Descent into the Maelstrom
by LairOfKyuubi
Summary: A lonely and bored child. A power that can corrupt even the most innocent soul. Watch, as one boy dives into the undiscovered secrets of the mind and reality. Just remember, nothing is impossible.
1. Creation

**"You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?' -George Bernard Shaw**

******AN:Entire story revised 9/06/11. No romance. Rest of the info is in my profile.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

* * *

Voices whispering from looming bodies. Eyes glaring at him from others his age. Simply staring at intangible shadows as they flickered across walls. Rain falling down on him as he walked home. Gazing up at the darkened sky and wondering when it would stop.

This is loneliness.

Naruto knew it, could feel it in the very marrow of his bones. He tried talking to others, to be friends. Words were elusive and Naruto could never manage to get his point across without looking like a fool. So he stopped and began withdrawing deeper and deeper into himself. Naruto didn't talk much anymore. A chat with the Hokage every once in a while and a few stilted conversations with Teuchi and Ayame was all. Sometimes he would hear voices though, other versions of himself with glowing red and violet eyes. They were always watching him, always reminding him of that night. It was better to ignore them.

This is darkness.

Truly, he felt emotions he shouldn't sometime. An old lady who'd spit in his general direction was close to having her head ripped off. It would have been so simple. Naruto knew he had power, knew how to access it. But no one else could know. They'd kill him, that's what his dad had said.

This is…life.

But his dad was dead now and Naruto was alone. He was always alone. Always searching for a way to heal the wrongness he felt inside. It wasn't the Kyuubi's fault. He knew the fox was long gone, only leaving behind a dark gift.

This isn't life. This is living death.

Alone, in his room, Naruto grasped onto this power. He molded it as he wished, creating

many different shapes. He found a strange solace from those shapes. They followed his command, combining and splitting. Yet it was not enough. Naruto did not know how long it took him to tire of the shapes, only that he was ready to move onto something else.

This is boring.

Naruto needed something more. He retreated into his mindscape once more. It was pitch black. The only source of light came from the center. Naruto walked to the center, lights casting an eerie orange glow on him. Before him lay the body of the Kyuubi, glowing brightly. Naruto smiled and scooped up a bit of the Kyuubi's chakra and began molding it.

A sphere, a cube, a dodecahedron: none were outside the range of his abilities. But all the shapes he created eventually fell apart and went back into the Kyuubi. It wasn't fair. It wasn't the Kyuubi's anymore. It was his. Furious, he gathered all of the chakra together and formed it into a giant sphere. Rising in the air above him it slowly combined. Naruto had created a blazing sun to illuminate his mindscape.

Naruto looked at it, not amazed as he'd been the first time he'd done it, but disinterested. He freed the chakra from his direction and watched as it settled back into the form of the fox.

Couldn't he have just a little bit? He'd suffered so much for it and now it would deny him ownership? Naruto raged, tearing the chakra apart, only to watch it meld back together unharmed. Then he had an idea. He pulled a small bit of the chakra into his hands. _Be mine, be mine,_ thought Naruto, gently caressing the energy.

The chakra went into his hands, disappearing from sight. His body started to glow and the energy rushed through his veins. Naruto had never felt more alive. His eyes flashed red, blue, and then purple before settling on blue once more. His body crackled with vigor and slowly the glow disappeared.

This is true strength.

Instinctively, Naruto cupped his hands around a small space of air. Concentrating, Naruto ground his teeth as his hands glowed. The light went from his hands into the thing he was making. It was small, just a small glowing light. But to Naruto, it was something ethereal. He gently touched it with a finger and watched as his finger went through it. He grinned suddenly and commanded the light with his mind. The little light zoomed upwards and took a place in the sky. It twinkled and shone like a beacon in the darkness of his mindscape.

He'd created a star. Naruto was giddy with excitement. The process hadn't used up a discernable amount of chakra. He nodded to himself and cupped his hands together once more. Stars flowed out of them and flew to join the other one in the sky. They crowded together in a happy jumble. Naruto stopped making them and examined his work. True, the sight of all these stars lightning up his mindscape was cool, but that was it. It was just stars and the darkness.

"A sky," Naruto suddenly said to himself, "I need a sky, or at least some colors."

Then he frowned. How was he supposed to change so much at once? _I could-_ he thought before being ripped viciously from his mindscape.

* * *

At 7:37 pm on a rainy fall night, the malevolent chakra of the Kyuubi was felt by the citizens of Konoha once more. Cups fell and shattered. Conversations flew to a sudden halt. Chairs were shoved aside as people stood and looked in the direction of the chakra source. The look on their faces ranged from apprehension, anger, to outright fear.

At that moment, the third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi rose from his desk. He pressed a button on a wall and spoke into an intercom.

"Inform all ninja to initiate code N-09. Send a squad of ANBU after me to Uzumaki's house."

"Yes sir," replied his secretary. Sarutobi tossed off his baggy Hokage robes and donned his old battle outfit. Doing a couple quick shunshins, the Hokage rushed through the village. Two minutes later and the ANBU squad joined up with him. At a single nod, the group changed into a different formation with Sarutobi in front.

A minute later and each ninja entered Naruto's apartment via windows and the front door. The scene in front of them was not one they expected. The apartment was lit by a single candle flame. Sitting on the bed was Naruto, his hands cupped around something and his mouth formed unspoken words. Naruto did not acknowledge their presence. His head was held down, messy hair covering his eyes. His shadow hung over him, looking quite menacing and evil, and made some of the ANBU uneasy.

Sarutobi signaled for a couple ninja to check the exits and rest of the apartment complex. Slowly he tapped Naruto on the shoulder. There was no response. _Genjutsu_, thought the old man.

He raised the blonde's head up to get a better look at him. The whites of Naruto's eyes showed and he continued whispering. Reading his lips, the Hokage was able to put together the semi-coherent train of thought of Naruto. 'Things I shouldn't do. Don't do it. Do it. Shapes. Power. Mine. All mine. Stars…'. Sarutobi tapped Naruto on the shoulder again, this time sending chakra throughout the youth's body. The jinchuuriki stopped whispering. His eyes rolled back, but instead of their normal blue was a vivid at the random intruder in his house and interruption of his meditation, Naruto began to scream and flail wildly. Quickly an ANBU restrained Naruto and shoved a chloroform rag in his face. Naruto tried to resist but his vision began fading black. The last thing he saw before total shutdown was the face of his clock, which now read 7:42.

* * *

Naruto blearily blinked his eyes open. A bright light shone in his eyes. He hissed and tried to cover his face with his hands. Only his hands were strapped to his sides and he was strapped down to a metal bed. A heavily scarred man entered his field of vision. He wore a bandana and a grim unforgiving expression covered his face.

"Who ordered you to attack the Hokage?"

_Drip._ A water drop fell on Naruto's head.

"No one."

_Drip._ He could see his surroundings a bit better now. A table to his right carried various metallic instruments. Darkness lay in front of him. He could only guess the gruesome torture devices that might be behind him.

"Then why did you?"

_Drip._

"Because I was scared and didn't realize who he was."

_Drip. _

"What were you doing so that you didn't realize we were there?"

"Meditating," Naruto said quickly. _Drip_. He'd beaten the timer.

"Deep meditation."

_Drip. _He wasn't going to answer that one. This guy wanted him to talk. Naruto had to give but not give everything.

"I know what you were really doing."

_Drip. _A short silence passed.

"Then why am I here?"

_Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. DRIP! _Naruto didn't like the noise. He closed his eyes and traveled to his mindscape. The stars still hung high in the air. One floated gently down at his command. He converted it back into energy and put it back within himself. If he could command his chakra to do things, that meant he could order his body to do things also, right?

_Stop hearing the noise of the water drops. Stop feeling the water. _Naruto opened his eyes. All had taken place in a single blink. The man stared at him intently then left abruptly.

The man was Ibiki Morino, head of the ANBU Interrogation and Torture department. Ibiki walked out of the room and stood beside the Hokage. Each looked through a one-way window at the blond jinchuuriki.

"I believe he is casting genjutsu on himself, Hokage-sama."

"I think so too, however that's not the point. He's using the Kyuubi's chakra. He hasn't used it beyond one tail yet, but it could happen at any time."

"Should I break him out of his genjutsu?"

"Yes, I want to talk to him and examine the seal."

* * *

Naruto was alone again. No, he was not alone. He had the stars and the darkness. Retreating once more to his mindscape once more, Naruto looked at his stars. Then he looked at the darkness. Suddenly he realized something important. There was darkness because there was no energy in those parts of his mindscape. If he spread the energy around, then he could easily make whatever he wanted.

Naruto singled out a star. It flew a little ways from the main group, but did not come to him. He gave it one command. _Explode._

The star grew brighter and brighter and then there was a loud boom as it went supernova. Naruto was momentarily blinded; he rubbed at his eyes then looked at the dust that hung around in the sky. With a wave of the hand it spread into a thin layer and became his sky. He made it a variety of different colors, purples cascading into blues with reds crashing in randomly.

He grinned, "That's good."

Then Naruto looked at his feet. There was no actual ground, only darkness. Instead of destroying another star, Naruto used some the energy he still had to form a beach at his feet. The white sand flowed in between his toes, the gritty texture unfamiliar.

Naruto used most of his remaining energy to create a black ocean. The waves crashed into the shore, slurping and smacking at his feet. Stepping into the water, he smiled.

"That's good."

This world was beautiful. The absence of noise and other people only made it more appealing. Colorful skies, a peaceful beach, twinkling stars within reach whenever he needed them, it was perfect. _And all mine._

Suddenly, Naruto started laughing. He was laughing loudly and gladly for the first time in a while. He launched into a nonsensical dance and twirled around and around. _Dance with me,_ he ordered.

The sand heaved forward. Silhouettes of people came together. Clumsily rising, they happily joined in on the frolic. The ocean flowed together and formed its own people. Beautiful and as graceful as the ocean itself, these figures also began to elegantly dance.

Perhaps the best was the stars. Each star became a little person zooming across the sky then skipping along the water's edge. Naruto happily jumped from partner to partner. He laughed as a star person danced on his head.

Then it was almost all ruined. A small tap of unknown chakra entered his chakra network. Naruto ground his teeth in frustration. Why couldn't they leave him alone? Almost instinctively, a red shield appeared around him. Smirking, Naruto silently commanded, _don't let them interrupt me._

- "He's not snapping out of it!"-

A water woman bade him to dance with her. Naruto bounced over to her. They twirled around and around together.

- "Try more chakra! Naruto! Naruto can you hear me?"-

The sky blurred around him, and Naruto smiled.

- "Get a Yamanaka down here!"-

Naruto looked out upon his world. The perfect world where anything and everything was

possible. Nothing bad ever had to happen. Not as long as he was here.

- "Naruto! Snap out of it! Stop casting the genjutsu!"-

_Something so simple._

- "We're detecting another surge in Kyuubi chakra if we keep trying to pump our chakra into him." -

_Something so natural._

-"NARUTO!"-

They would never take it away.


	2. Education

**A child is not a vase to be filled but a fire to be lit. - Francois Rabelais**

* * *

"_Would you like to play a game?"_

_Naruto hugged a board game to his chest, looking at the Hokage with those bright blue eyes and a hopeful smile on his face. It wasn't the first time he had come in asking that. Earlier that week he'd come in, but the Sandaime had been out dealing with the Cloud-Hyuga incident. They had such ridiculous demands, and they'd taken a father away from his son._

"_Please? It won't take long, I promise," pleaded Naruto. His eyes got big and he gripped the game tighter._

_Sarutobi sighed and was about to agree when Kotetsu barged into his office._

"_Urgent message from Cloud Hokage-sama!" he said, handing him the decoded message. Sarutobi frowned and opened it. Wasn't it enough to have the corpse of the one who had 'killed their amb assador without reason?'. Granted it was actually the man's twin brother, but still they didn't know that._

_While he was reading it, something fell on the ground with a clatter. He looked up and saw the board game in pieces on the floor. Game pieces and cards were scattered everywhere. _

_And Naruto was gone._

* * *

That was the last time Naruto had ever been in the Hokage's office. Now he sat there glaring at the ANBU who had managed to break the genjutsu. Tenzo ignored it and calmly awaited orders.

"What's your name wooden man?" the boy asked softly, still glaring.

"Classified."

Naruto gripped the sides of his chair tightly and a low growl built up in the back of his throat. He hated the man. What right did he have to take away something that didn't belong to him? It was Naruto's world, always would be.

He'd been enjoying his frolic when it happened. There was a ripping sound and giant holes started to appear everywhere. The dancing sand and water people had simply collapsed and lost their form. The stars faded away, as if they were never there.

Out of the holes, giant wooden tendrils had emerged and tried to grab Naruto. The boy roared and used the Kyuubi's chakra to repel them. Creating a shield, he quickly rebuilt his world. Then he left his mindscape. A part of him anyway.

It was the only way. He could conceal the chakra, and go there again later. Really, the blond should have concealed it in the first place, but…the euphoria of having all that power…it'd made him careless. And now this man who could control wood and subdue the Kyuubi's chakra had appeared.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. He could kill the man right now. Just grab a hold of the power and tear him into pieces. It would be so easy. Just like before.

"_Naruto, I need you to listen to me. Don't ever use that chakra. It's evil. Even in life or death situations don't use it. After you've used it the first time, there's no going back. You just won't be able to resist."_

But his dad wouldn't like it if he killed the man. And he'd already disobeyed his dad once today. Fine, the man can stay alive…for now. His grip on the chair loosened and he stopped glaring at the ANBU to look at the Hokage.\

"Naruto," Sarutobi began, "do you even know what you were doing?"

"I was just bored. So I started meditating and I ended up in a dark place. I found out I was able to change it, so I did," the boy said, shrugging. He then looked pointedly down at his shoes, as if examining some oddity.

"So you didn't notice anything unusual at all about your chakra?"

Naruto paused, "No…the chakra in my body was not unusual at all."

"Are you sure?" pressed the Sandaime. The room was suddenly tense, everyone unconsciously leaning in to hear the jinchuuriki's answer.

Naruto lifted his head, stared Sarutobi straight in the eyes, and said, "Yes I'm sure. I would've let you know if my chakra started acting weird, _Hokage-sama_."

His voice dripped with sarcasm and his eyes glared into the Hokage's as if he was issuing a challenge. It forcibly reminded Sarutobi of the situation. He was not here as the boy's '_Ojii-san'_ but as the Hokage. And as Hokage it was his job to protect the people of Konoha, which in this case meant dealing with the anomaly that Naruto had created.

"Naruto," Sarutobi warned, his voice growing louder in intensity, "You're chakra was not normal today. You cast what is known as a genjutsu on yourself and then began to affect other people of Konoha."

His eyes stared down those young blue ones, hammering his superiority over the boy into them, "You knew something was wrong but continued on anyways. The first time I will excuse for maybe you truly didn't know what you were doing. But when we brought you back here, you again activated the genjutsu, this time consciously deflecting all attempts to bring you out of it. It was only when your genjutsu was ripped to shreds that you came out voluntarily. So I would prefer you not lie to my face, Naruto."

The boy didn't even blink much less back down, "I apologize Hokage-sama. I had no clue that the villagers were so…weak. Nor did I know that something so minor as a genjutsu would land me in the T&I department as if I were enemy instead of a seven year old. It won't happen again…_sir_."

Immediately an ANBU was at his side, a kunai pressed against the blond's throat. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as the cold metal rested on his jugular vein. Then they settled into indifference.

"You will respect the Hokage, you brat," hissed the ANBU. The jinchuuriki merely looked at the masked female and smirked. She growled and the kunai cut his throat slightly, a line of blood appearing.

"Cougar stand down," ordered the Hokage.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," she said quietly, removing the knife and returning to the Hokage's side. Naruto continued smirking as he wiped off the blood from his throat, revealing the cut to already be healed.

"Is this the way you are going to be Naruto?" asked Sarutobi. The blond said nothing, just stared blankly.

"You want to be a ninja correct Naruto? Then you must realize that you must follow your superior's orders and give them the proper respect. As the Hokage, my orders are above all other and the ones you cannot disobey. If you cannot even do that and be respectful then you are not a ninja I need. Therefore I will not waste my resources into training you."

"What're you trying to say?" growled Naruto. He narrowed his eyes. The old man wouldn't kill him would he? He couldn't. As far as the Hokage knew, the Kyuubi was a threat that only Naruto could keep contained. Not the dark gift of near infinite chakra without anything maintaining it that Naruto knew it to be.

"I'm saying that you will be removed from the Academy. You will then have several chakra-restraining seals placed upon you. That way you will no longer be a danger to yourself or the village."

"No…,"the boy said quietly, mostly to himself.

Sarutobi ignored him and continued, "You will be returned to the orphanage and be enrolled in the civilian elementary school. I'm sure you'll find something else to aspire to."

Naruto said nothing, his mind reeling from shock. _Taken away from the academy? My chakra sealed away? How will I protect myself?_ He wouldn't be able to and the old man knew it.

_My world…_

The second his chakra was sealed it would be gone. His world, his safe haven would disappear as if it had never been there. He'd barely managed to save it before, he couldn't lose it again.

_Without my power, without my world._

Naruto would be hollow. Nothing to keep him from noticing the hate always aimed at him. Nothing to stop them from hurting him with their jagged words and glares. Not a single person acknowledging him for who he was. He would cease to exist.

He couldn't let this happen.

"No," Naruto said again, louder, "Please…no. Don't do this. I'm…sorry. I'm sorry!"

"You didn't seem sorry earlier," noted the Hokage.

"I was just…frustrated. It seemed like I'd finally found some power that mad me special, like my classmates have. Then you took it away. I'm sorry, I really am. I won't do it ever again. Promise.

"Earlier…I was also arrogant and immature. I'm also sorry for that. As an underling still in training, it was wrong of me. Please…Ojii-san….please forgive me," the boy pleaded, reverting to his personal way of addressing the Hokage. Tears threatened to spill down his face. Everything was at stake. Surely he hadn't messed up badly enough not to get forgiveness?

"Naruto," began Sarutobi, looking into those blue eyes once more. What an enigma the boy had become. He'd wanted to shake him up and had succeeded. However, he hadn't expected Naruto's reaction to be so severe. The boy was looking at him like Sarutobi had just said he was to be executed.

Sarutobi knew that Naruto didn't have many, if any, friends. He knew Naruto was at the bottom of his class. But he didn't know what was so appealing about the Academy that the boy wanted to stay. Perhaps, like his father, he was simply determined to be a ninja. He didn't really know.

"Naruto," he repeated, standing up from his desk "I forgive you. You are still a child. You'll make mistakes and learn from them, like now. I won't remove you from the Academy. Just swear you won't use that power again."

"I swear Ojii-san," Naruto murmured, eyes now downcast. Tears fell from his face and dotted his pants. The Hokage moved and stood in front of the crying boy. Naruto was shocked as the old man embraced him.

"I know it's hard Naruto. You don't have to hide it. You don't have a regular family like the other kids. But I'm part of your family Naruto. If you need me I will be there, because you're one of my precious people," comforted the old man with a smile.

And Naruto almost lost control. He almost seized the power with the intention to destroy this hypocritical fool touching him. But he didn't. He managed to choke down the anger and rage.

"I know, Ojii-san…Thanks."

He wiped the tears away from his eyes. The Hokage let go of the boy, and ruffled his hair.

"You'll make a great ninja one day Naruto, I know it."

Naruto simply nodded, "Am I allowed to leave now?"

"Yes, Cat will accompany you to the Academy," the Sandaime replied, gesturing to one of the ANBU. It was the wooden man who wouldn't tell Naruto his name.

"Can you send someone else? He makes my chakra feel all funny and it hurts. I don't trust him," asked Naruto. Anyone but him. There was a risk that the man could figure out his secrets.

Sarutobi looked surprised, but then his face became neutral again. He went back over to his desk and pressed a button.

"Kaoru-san I need you to send up Uchiha Itachi. He was supposed to see me soon

anyway."

_Uchiha Itachi?_ _Ah Uchiha. Someone related to prodigy Sasuke, _thought Naruto. It didn't take long before the door opened and Itachi stepped through.

"Reporting for duty, Hokage-sama," he said, bowing slightly. His voice was deep and seemingly devoid of emotion. He wore a mask, from what Naruto could see it was a bird. A raven? Maybe a crow? He was dressed in the regular ANBU armor and had a ninjato strapped to his back. Long black hair was contained within a ponytail.

"You may remove your mask, Itachi."

Itachi did as he asked and Naruto nearly gasped. Itachi was just a kid. Maybe only thirteen years old. He had black eyes and two weird wrinkle-like lines going down the side of his nose.

"Itachi, you've been on several hard missions lately. I know you would refuse a break so instead I'll simply assign you a simpler mission. This is Naruto Uzumaki. Do you know him?"

Itachi, not even looking at Naruto, replied, "I know of him sir. We've never been properly introduced."

"Well then, I guess I'll have the honors of introducing you two then. Naruto, this is Itachi Uchiha. He is one of my most trusted ANBU. Itachi this is Naruto Uzumaki. You will watch over him for a month."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"But he's just a kid like me," pointed out Naruto. Still, an incompetent guard was better than the wooden man. Naruto could protect himself if need be.

"I am capable of watching over you Naruto-san," stated Itachi, turning to face Naruto and look at him for the first time, "Age does not always signify power."

Naruto squirmed as Itachi coolly examined him. Those black eyes took in everything and revealed almost nothing. The jinchuuriki stared into the black orbs and saw one thing. Sympathy. For him. Naruto tore his eyes away from the Uchiha.

What right did he have to feel for him of all people? Itachi didn't even know him or what he was. Or maybe he did. It didn't matter. He didn't want anyone looking at him with

those kinds of eyes.

"Naruto, Itachi can now escort you to the Academy or home if you wish. The school day

is almost over anyway," said the Hokage, breaking Naruto's internal monologue.

Naruto simply nodded, obviously eager to leave. He jumped up and was out of the room as fast as possible. Itachi and the Hokage shared a look before the Uchiha followed after Naruto.

* * *

The sky was dark and overcast with clouds as they walked outside.

"Looks like a storm is coming," noted Itachi quietly. Naruto stopped and looked up at the sky.

"Yeah, but I like the rain."

The blond started walking towards the Academy. Itachi performed a quick henge to make it look like he was wearing civilian clothes and followed. The boy in front of him was nervous, constantly looking around. Naruto then turned and looked back at Itachi.

"Why are you walking with me? The others just hid on rooftops and followed me around."

"It's easier to protect you if I'm right next to you than if I was simply watching you from a rooftop somewhere," replied Itachi, "Would you prefer if I watched you from a distance?"

Naruto just shook his head and started walking forwards again. Itachi tilted his head slightly and stared and the jinchuuriki in thought. The boy was rather paranoid. Though he did have a right to be, Itachi supposed.

About two years ago, a man had broken into Naruto's apartment and waited for the boy to return home. Once the boy had arrived, the man tried to kill him.

When ANBU arrived, the apartment building was in flames and the man was dead with a hole in his chest. They found Naruto in an alleyway who said he remembered nothing. From that day on, he had an ANBU guarding him at all times.

The Hokage always thought the Kyuubi had intervened. Itachi didn't want to second-guess the Sandaime but there was just something about Naruto that made him doubt it. He'd seen it when he'd looked into the jinchuuriki's eyes. The knowledge of true power and the will to use it if need be. Underneath all of that was a realm of secrets. They were layered one on top of the other, details concerning only the boy that held them.

Itachi knew about carrying secrets and their burden. He felt sympathy towards Naruto. The boy was lonely, afraid, and distrustful. Unstable. He had no one to turn to in a village full of people who should be grateful for the boy's sacrifice. It wasn't part of the mission the Hokage had assigned, but…Itachi would try to be friend for him.

The two slowed as they reached the academy's gates. Itachi could see Iruka giving a lecture in front of a class of students. Looked like he was winding down, it wasn't long before the class was dismissed anyway. Ah there was Sasuke sitting by the window daydreaming. Sasuke's eyes wandered until he saw Itachi outside looking at him. The younger Uchiha waved and smiled. Itachi gave a small smile and waved back.

"Are you Sasuke's brother?" asked Naruto softly, not looking at him.

"…Yes."

Naruto was quiet for a moment, then said, "He's lucky."

Itachi was about to respond when a large object launched itself at him. He looked down and saw Sasuke's arms wrapped around him, while Sasuke smiled up at him.

"Hey nii-san! Are you here to pick me up from school? I brought some shuriken we could go train again," gushed his little brother, with adoring eyes. Itachi just smiled and removed Sasuke from his waist.

"I can't right now, I'm watching over Naruto," Itachi said, looking over at where the blond…wasn't.

"Wait did you say Naruto?" asked Sasuke in confusion. Itachi looked up the street and caught a glimpse of the boy's orange t-shirt.

"Sorry Sasuke, I have to go now," Itachi stated simply, ignoring his brother's protests and following after the jinchuuriki.

* * *

As Naruto walked through the crowded streets raindrops began to fall. He didn't mind. It distracted him from the glares aimed at him. But really, **they **didn't matter either.

All that mattered was his rage, hatred and weakness. The Hokage had threatened him. Him! The man had let him down more times than he could count and then babbled about Naruto being one of his 'precious people.' It made him sick with anger. He was angry at everything, himself most of all.

He'd been so stupid. Basically shoving his secrets out in the open for the Hokage to see. Naruto should've played dumb. He should've played the 'Ojii-san' card from the very beginning. It was too late now. Now the Hokage would be wary of him and his decisions.

The rain fell harder and Naruto clenched his fists, fingers digging into his palms. _I need to be able to control the power. To the point where no one can threaten to take it away, _he thought quietly. He began to run.

"_Don't let anyone know the truth about you. They'll kill you and I won't be able to save you,"_ the echo of father's voice ordered in his mind.

_I know, I won't Dad._

"_Trust no one."_

_No one trusts me anyway Dad._

"_Above all don't use that power."_

_Ah…sorry Dad. Can't keep that promise._

The villagers simply stared as the blond boy ran past them. Some probably thought the rain was covering his tears. But he wasn't crying. He was scheming. He would get stronger no matter what the cost. He would protect his world.

_You can't control me old man and you can't stop me._

* * *

Night had fallen and Itachi supervised Naruto's apartment from an adjacent rooftop. It hadn't taken much to catch up with the boy earlier. He'd began 'hiding on rooftops and following him' as Naruto had put it. The blond was more comfortable that way anyway.

_At least it's not raining anymore._ The sky had cleared up considerably. Itachi could just make out the outline of the crescent moon in the dark sky. It was peaceful. More peaceful than home.

The Uchiha sighed. His father didn't trust him much anymore. Things were getting tense in the clan compound. Gone was the daily chatter and gossip. It was replaced by whispered secrets and shared looks.

Shisui, his cousin, his best friend, the person he loved like a brother, was watching him like he was an enemy. It hurt. It was like being a crow among sparrows. _Or a fox among dogs,_ he thought reminded of Naruto once more.

He was an enigma to everyone. His father believed him to be an agent getting information from ANBU. The Hokage thought he was a double agent, instead getting information from the Uchiha clan. Honestly? He didn't know what side to be on. Itachi simply leaned towards the Hokage's side because he didn't want there to be any violence.

The Uchihas were planning a coup. Danzo and the council wanted them stopped with any means necessary. The Hokage wanted a peaceful agreement between the two. That much was certain.

He remembered the one time he'd met Danzo concerning the matter.

"_You will stop them," _the war hawk had said simply, "_Or the issue will be taken from your hands. If they follow through then you will have to kill them. If you do not then someone else will. It's as simple as that."_

And his father…

"_Itachi…you are the hope of the clan right now. This is a very important time for our clan now. I know you do not like it, but we will need you to fight along side us when we initiate the coup. We can't do it without you son. Don't let us down."_

Unbidden tears came to his eyes. He quickly wiped them away before the spilled down his face. Itachi couldn't even remember the last time he'd cried. He thought he'd guarded his emotions correctly. But how could he in a situation like this?

_Kill the clan. Protect Konoha._

_Save the clan. Take over Konoha._

It sounded so simple to choose between.

He wished it was_. _

Itachi was struck by the brief memory of Sasuke training with him. Those innocent eyes and wide smile.

"_One day I'm gonna be strong like you nii-san!"_

Either way, that smile was going to disappear.

* * *

_The scene is blurry, unfocused. I rub my eyes trying to see through the mist. Ah, now I can see. I'm walking home. There's the apartment. I walk in._

_I'm not alone. One of __**them **__is there and now I can't move. You think you've got me? You think you can kill me?_

_**You're a fool.**_

_Something snaps and I blank out for a moment. When I come to, there's a body on the floor. I laugh, low and hoarsely. Then I look at my hands._

"_My hands, what's on them?" I ask myself, examining them._

"_What's on my hands?"_

_Suddenly there's more voices, and they're all me._

"_Why can't I get it off?"_

"All I can see is red_."_

"_**That was fun."**_

"Red like blood_."_

"_Blood. Is blood in my hands?"_

"_**Delicious."**_

"_I can't get it off. I can't get it off. I CAN'T GET THE BLOOD OFF MY HANDS!"_

"I see myself. A monster living in a red world."

"_**This is the power of the dark gift."**_

"_I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do it Dad. I didn't want to. I'm sorry. Just help me. Please. Save me."_

"A monster with red eyes and a black heart. A monster with a maelstrom where the soul should be."

"_**I don't need to be saved."**_

_Then the world burns. Flames devour all that exists._

"_I'm sorry! Stop it Dad! Don't punish me. I'll listen next time I promise!"_

_It begins to rain. Small red droplets fall upon me as the fire rages in front of me._

"A monster that is the sum of a thousand lies."

_Now it's a deluge of the viscous scarlet liquid. I'm covered in it. I can't breathe._

"_**I don't need Dad. I don't need them. I don't need the old man. I don't need friends."**_

"_I'm not bleeding. It's not my blood. It's his, it's his. It's Dad's blood. I never asked you to. I never wanted you to go."_

_The walls fall down and I'm in a red void. Nothing exists. Except me._

"And the monster asks 'Can dreams be better than reality?'"

_I look down. Nothing. I close my eyes and fall. I fall. I fall._

"_**I don't need anything."**_

_And I know no one will be there to catch me._

"…_I don't want to be alone anymore."_

"_**Not even reality."**_

_I cease to exist._

* * *

Naruto tore his eyes open and looked at the person who'd woken him up. Itachi was there at his bedside with a worried look on his face.

"Are you ok Naruto?" he questioned, checking Naruto over for any bodily injuries, "Just a nightmare?"

"I'm fine," Naruto replied softly, looking around his apartment. No red in sight. Good.

"That's good. Does your chakra usually flare when you have a bad dream?"

"It wasn't a dream," he stated simply. _It was a memory._

"I see…is there anything I can do for you?"

Naruto turned to face the Uchiha, "Why do you care? I'm not your brother. I'm not your friend. I'm just your mission."

Itachi simply looked at him. There it was again, the sympathy.

"Is it so wrong to care about another person without reason?"

Naruto snorted, "I don't know, I guess not. But when someone says they care it's usually a lie. Just something to keep up the nice façade."

Itachi sighed then gave him a small smile. He reached out with his hand towards Naruto. The jinchuuriki flinched, but the Uchiha merely set his hand on the boy's head.

"I care Naruto, I mean it." he said, ruffling his hair, "I'll care about you even after the mission is over. We could be friends."

Naruto wanted to shy away from the older boy's hand but it was warm. It felt good.

"_Trust no one."_

He flinched again and pushed Itachi's hand away.

"Thanks Itachi," he mumbled.

"No problem Naruto, now is there anything I can do for you before you go back to bed?"

Naruto was tempted to say 'no' but then…, "Can I ask you a question?"

"What is it?"

"Have you…ever killed anyone before?"

The smile was gone, the kind caring eyes turned into voids. Itachi stared at him in silence for a moment before answering.

"Yes."

"Does that make you evil? Even if it was for a good reason? Even if you couldn't prevent it?" the blond asked rapidly, eyes focused only on Itachi.

The Uchiha was quiet for a minute before saying, "Nothing is inherently good or evil. They are simply notions that we attach to other people because of our own beliefs. You can believe that I am evil but that doesn't make it so."

"Even if everyone besides you thinks so?"

"What you think is what matters. You are the only one who can condemn you."

_I don't want to be evil._

"…I don't think you're evil Itachi," Naruto murmured, looking back down to his hands, "Thanks for answering my questions."

"You're welcome," he paused, "Naruto, if there's anything you want to talk about, I'll listen."

Naruto nearly opened his mouth. He nearly gushed out all the secrets, lies and the truth that no one but him knew. But then he remembered how the old man had said something similar to that. And the old man was a liar.

"You can leave now," Naruto said darkly. Itachi looked like he wanted to say something else, but he just nodded and left through Naruto's window. He closed it shut and then disappeared like a shadow.

Naruto balled his hands into fists. Stupid! He shouldn't have asked such strange questions. Itachi was smart. He couldn't fool him like he could the Hokage. If he wasn't careful, the Uchiha would find out the truth. Then Naruto would die.

_But would it matter? While I'm alive, I'm thinking of doing horrible things to __**them**__. Like they do to me._

Naruto hugged his knees to his chest.

_I don't want to be evil._

_But I think I am._

* * *

The sun rose and people awoke and rose with it. The air was full of bird songs, yawns and the rustling of storeowners opening their shops. It was sunny, very few clouds in smiled. This is what he loved about Konoha. He watched as kids laughed and played ball in the street. Everything was at peace.

Suddenly a shadow loomed and covered him. The air felt colder and the hair on the back on his neck rose. Itachi looked up and saw Naruto staring at him from his balcony.

"Are you ready to go?" Itachi asked. Naruto didn't reply. The boy went back in the house. It wasn't long before Naruto came out the door and stood beside Itachi briefly.

"…Let's go."

They walked silently down the streets. _He's not looking all around like yesterday,_ Itachi noted. Naruto just looked ahead and walked forward. When he walked past, people moved out of the way. Neither acknowledged the other. It was like he was in his own self contained world.

It was strange. This Naruto exuded a more confident impression than the one from before. The villagers noticed it too, and they didn't send their glares or hateful words.

"We're here," Naruto said, interrupting his thoughts.

Itachi looked up and saw the academy gate, "So we are."

He saw Iruka standing in front of the building greeting his students as they headed inside. Iruka was more than capable of watching Naruto for the school day. He'd be able to go back home and rest.

"I'll see you later Naruto."

The boy ignored him and walked towards the building. Itachi turned to leave when he heard a cry of 'NII-SAN!' His little brother rushed towards him, his school bag nearly flying off his shoulder. Sasuke stopped in front of him and caught his breath before looking up at him.

"Why didn't you come home last night and what are you doing hanging around that Naruto kid?" Sasuke demanded with a pout, "and don't run away like last time!"

"It's an official mission Sasuke. I have to guard Naruto for a month. That's why I didn't come home."

Sasuke considered this, "What's so special about him? He's not very good at anything in class."

"He is special, he's the last person of his clan," Itachi replied, creating the half-truth on the spot, "The Hokage wants me to protect him from anyone who wants revenge on his clan."

"I've never heard of the Uzumaki clan."

"You live in a village of ninja Sasuke. There are secrets. You should know that."

"…ok, I believe you," his little brother declared, "but are you always going to be watching him? I want to show you my new shuriken technique!"

Itachi gestured for his little brother to come closer. Sasuke smiled and did so…only to be poked in the forehead.

"Sorry Sasuke, another time."

Sasuke pouted while rubbing his forehead, "You always say that and then you never have the time."

"I will this time, I promise," Itachi smiled, then became serious, "Will you do me a favor Sasuke?"

"Huh? What do you need nii-san?"

"Would you look out for Naruto? He needs friend, someone his own age. I think you two would get along."

"…I'll try," Sasuke agreed dubiously.

"Thank you," Itachi said before using a body flicker to essentially disappear before his brother's eyes. The younger Uchiha crossed his arms and frowned. How was he supposed to become Uzumaki's friend? The guy barely said anything.

His eyes widened as he heard the sound of a raving pack of fan girls approaching. He was in the Academy, in the window seat surrounded by guys quicker than should be possible. Sasuke let out a sigh of relief. Crazy girls, why couldn't they just leave him alone?

The hair on the back of his neck prickled as he felt someone staring at him. Sasuke looked around and saw Uzumaki gazing at him. Remembering Itachi's words, he smiled and waved at the other boy. Uzumaki just blinked and turned back around in his seat.

…This was going to be harder than he thought.

* * *

The bell rung and the students stopped messing around and sat down in their seats. Iruka cleared his throat and they immediately focused on him.

"Good morning class, today we'll be learning about Genjutsu. Before I start is there anyone who has an idea of what it might be?"

And like every time he asked a somewhat difficult question, the majority of the class tried to be invisible. They might as well of been screaming 'Don't call on me!'. A lone hand shakily rose. Sakura Haruno. Iruka smiled, she was one of his brightest students. He called on her.

"Genjutsu is a collection of techniques that use chakra to cast illusions on your enemies. Your chakra takes over their senses and you then create illusions to fool them while in reality you can take advantage of their confusion and defeat them."

Iruka beamed at her, "Good job Sakura. Now class when would genjutsu be most effective in battle? How about you Shikamaru?"

The Nara yawned lazily, "Man how troublesome…you can use genjutsu whenever really. It's variable especially since most people don't see it coming. Not a lot of people can even use genjutsu. Ah, except the Uchiha clan. They're really good at it."

"Ah that would be because of their kekkai genkai, the Sharingan. But that's a discussion for another day," Iruka continued, "You are also right about not many people being able to wield genjutsu. Unfortunately, I can't use genjutsu very well. Therefore, I've brought in a guest to help with the lesson today. Yuuhi-san?"

"My, my you have smart students Iruka-san," came a feminine voice from nowhere.

One of the girls screeched, "Kyaaah! It's a ghost!"

Kiba covered his sensitive ears in annoyance, "Be quiet! It's just a trick Iruka-sensei is playing."

The other students immediately relaxed and some even began to laugh.

"That was funny Iruka-sensei! I bet you made a genjutsu right then to make us hear that voice!" yelled some obnoxious blond.

"Idiots. She's sitting right there," growled Naruto pointing at an empty chair, "Even you should be able to smell her mutt."

Kiba snarled in response and then took Uzumaki's advice. His eyes widened, "He's right, she is really sitting there."

"Kai," the voice said. A young woman appeared to materialize on the spot. She had long black hair and red eyes and appeared to be in her early twenties. She released her seal and smiled at the class.

"Good morning students. I am not a ghost or a trick. My name is Kurenai Yuuhi. I'm one of Konoha's genjutsu specialists. The moment you walked into the classroom, you were under my genjutsu. However I only affected your sight, which is why Inuzuka-san was able to detect me."

That didn't explain how the jinchuuriki was able to sense her though. There'd been rumors about other jinchuuriki being near immune to genjutsu due to their bijuu's interference. It was something she needed to look into.

"…Now who can tell me what is needed for a ninja to be successful at genjutsu?" Kurenai addressed the class. Sasuke raised his hand, and she called on him.

"Intelligence, attention to details and really good chakra control," the Uchiha answered.

The genjutsu specialist nodded, "Excellent Uchiha-san, but you're missing one very important element."

Sasuke frowned and other kids raised their hands. 'Training' said one, 'determination!' replied another, but they were all wrong.

Kurenai shook her head, "It's simple really. It's something all of you children have."

They gazed up at her in wonder. What mysterious power were they supposed to have?

"Imagination."

"Imagination," she repeated, "is the most important aspect of a genjutsu. This is where most ninjas fail. They treat it like a straightforward ninjutsu and end up having their illusions turned against them.

"You use intelligence to capture your opponent in the genjutsu. Then your attention to details can create a perfect illusion of the battlefield so you can convince your enemy that nothing has happened. Chakra control is self-explanatory. If you cannot control your chakra, what makes you think you'd be able to control your opponent's senses?"

"Imagination is your most powerful weapon. You use it to create your own version of reality and your enemy must follow its rules. All the better if they know they are caught in your genjutsu but can't escape. You can throw the real world out the window and make whatever you need whether it is to capture torture or simply kill the enemy."

The class was enraptured by her words. Iruka chuckled to himself quietly. They never paid this much attention to him. Ah, what was that? Uzumaki was raising his hand. Naruto never said a word if he could help it. Strange.

"Yes Uzumaki-san?"

"Kurenai-sensei, what if your enemy was also using genjutsu against you? And if your genjutsu got dispelled, how could you break out of theirs?" Naruto asked, his intense eyes never leaving the young women. Kurenai wanted to look away from those eyes. It was an odd feeling, one she pushed away.

"Excellent questions Uzumaki-san. Though it is rare, there have been genjutsu vs. genjutsu battles before. It essentially becomes a battle of wills. Eventually one of them will be sucked into the other's illusion. As for the other question, does anyone remember the three ways to escape a genjutsu?"

Once again, Sakura raised her hand and was called on.

"Well the easiest way would be to stop the flow of chakra in your body then to use genjutsu release, 'kai' ,to disrupt the genjutsu caster's chakra.," Sakura explained, "If you can't stop the flow of your chakra then an ally could disrupt the flow of your chakra enough to break you out of the genjutsu. The third way would be to hurt yourself in some way so that the pain would bring you back to reality."

Kurenai nodded, "Good job Haruno-san. Were all your questions answered Uzumaki-san?"

"Yes Kurenai-sensei. But I have one last question," he paused, "…what if you were in the general area of an enemy, but had no clue where he was. Without it directly affecting the five senses like sound or sight, could you tailor a genjutsu just for that specific person without them even knowing you were there?"

The boy was asking about advanced theoretical genjutsu now? Yuuhi started looking at the boy in a new light. Perhaps he would be useful to the village. Maybe he'd become a genjutsu specialist like her. Seems like he had the talent.

"While it is theoretically possible, no one has ever pulled it off in combat. Such a technique would require you to have more chakra than average. Unless you knew the specific chakra signature, you'd have to mold your chakra like a net, encompassing the entire area. If you did that then the enemy could easily detect it. Not to mention that the enemy would be on the move while you tried to cast the jutsu. It would be easier to use a wide range genjutsu. Though those are very weak."

"What if you got rid of all the variables then? Say they're asleep in bed, but too protected for a physical attack. You would be able to do away with the chakra net and make a single tendril. Then you use that tendril to trap the enemy in your illusion. Since they're asleep they would then assume the illusions were a dream."

_This boy…Naruto Uzumaki. _He was brilliant.

"Iruka are you sure you didn't already teach them about genjutsu?" Iruka laughed awkwardly and shook his head, "Then they seem to have a good grasp on it. Especially Uzumaki-san. By the way, your theory is completely logical. I might test it out while I'm on a mission. You should think about specializing in genjutsu Naruto, you seem to have a knack for it."

Naruto looked down at his desk and mumbled, "Thanks Kurenai-sensei."

Kurenai smiled and continued the lesson. The jinchuuriki said nothing else for the rest of it.

"Ok class it's time to say goodbye to Yuuhi-san. Don't forget to thank her for the lesson," Iruka ordered.

"No need, I had fun myself teaching the class today. You are all bright-minded children who will become excellent ninjas in time," she waved goodbye to the class and headed on out the door.

_Especially you, Naruto Uzumaki, _she thought looking back at the boy. His intense blue eyes were on her again. She smiled and left, not noticing the cruel smile on his face nor the malicious intent in his eyes.

* * *

"So you like genjutsu?"

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke blankly. The Uchiha sat down next to Naruto and opened his lunchbox. It was lunchtime and there was only a few people still in the room, Sasuke and Naruto being two of them.

"You seem to know a lot about it. You impressed that lady too," Sasuke continued. Naruto looked down at his hands, then back up at him.

"Yeah…I guess I just finally found something I was good at," he murmured.

"Really good at," Sasuke laughed, "Hey Naruto where's your lunch?"

The boy shrugged, "I forgot to bring one. I'll be alright."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as the blond's stomach rumbled loudly. Naruto turned red from embarrassment and looked away. The Uchiha sighed and pushed his lunchbox over so that it was in between both of them. The jinchuuriki looked up at him in confusion.

"I'll share with you. But don't touch the tomatoes. They're mine."

"Y-you're sure? You don't have to."

"Go ahead and eat idiot. If you don't then you won't be able to focus on Iruka's lectures later. Though you might not want to…they are kinda boring," Sasuke replied, taking out the best tomato he could see and taking a bite out of it.

"Thanks Sasuke," Naruto said quietly. Sasuke looked at him. The blond was smiling as he picked up the chopsticks and began to dig in. Sasuke smiled too. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard. He saw a glimmer of red in the corner of his eye.

"No! I said no tomatoes!" the Uchiha complained.

"Just one? They look so good."

"No!"

Naruto held it out of his reach and they began fighting over the tomato. Soon they were both laughing. Neither saw the shadow loom over Naruto.

Suddenly a huge pot was over Naruto's head and someone used a stick to bang against the pot. Sasuke growled and shoved the pot off Uzumaki's head.

"Hahaha that was hilarious right Sasuke?" chortled Kiba, slapping his knee. He'd dropped the stick and his eyes were tearing up from laughing so hard.

"Idiot mutt, what the hell did you do that for? He did nothing to you!" Sasuke yelled.

"Hey man, get a grip. It's just Naruto the dead last. No one gives a crap about him anyway. I bet you would've done it too."

"No I wouldn't have-" Sasuke stopped when he saw Naruto get up and grab the Inuzuka by the collar. He was different. The atmosphere around him was deadly. The blond growled and _threw _the Inuzuka over the desks.

_Holy shit,_ thought Sasuke as Kiba went rolling and finally crashed into the wall.

Kiba groaned and rubbed his head while trying to get up. But Naruto was already there. He again grabbed Kiba by the collar, and then he shoved him against the wall.

"What's your problem Uzumaki? It was just a joke!" Kiba protested.

"Just a joke? I'm tired of your jokes Inuzuka," Naruto snarled, jostling the other boy. Then a wide grin appeared on his face, "So you like jokes huh?"

He grabbed a sharp pencil from his pocket, "You know, anything can be used as a weapon. You seem to think pain is funny. So tell me where should I stab you with this? It's just a joke right? The pain won't matter if it's funny right?"

"What are you talking about you psychopath? Just put down the pencil and let me go!"

"Maybe I should gouge out one of your eyes. Though I think it would be funny to stab your hand to the wall. Oh the possibilities," Naruto chuckled.

"Naruto! What are you doing?" shouted Sasuke, moving towards them, "you don't have to take it that far!"

"Be quiet Uchiha. This has nothing to do with you," he ordered coldly, looking Sasuke in the eye. Sasuke froze in place. Never before had he felt such fear. And his eyes, they weren't normal. Instead of their usual blue, they were shifting from violet to red, swirling around like a whirlpool.

The jinchuuriki smiled, "This looks like a good spot."

He pulled his hand back, then plunged the pencil forward. Kiba closed his eyes, screaming silently. Sasuke watched in horror as the pencil came closer.

It never came down. There was a firm hand on Naruto's arm, stopping him.

"STOP! What on earth are you doing to him Naruto? Let him go!" Iruka demanded. He stared angrily at the blond. Slowly the atmosphere of fear and danger disappeared. Naruto let go of Kiba and snatched his hand away from Iruka. The Inuzuka fell to the floor with a _thump _and was breathing hard.

"All of you! Out into the hallway now! You're going to explain what just happened."

Kiba shakily rose to his feet. After giving Naruto a glare, he complied with Iruka's orders. Sasuke stared at Naruto. He was totally different from the shy boy a couple of minutes ago. This Naruto…there was something that screamed dangerous. Was this his true self?

Uzumaki growled softly, then turned and plunged the pencil into the wall. He smiled and left it there as he walked out to join Kiba in the hallway. Sasuke looked at the wall. At least half of the pencil was sunk into it.

_Impossible…_

"Come on Sasuke," Iruka said, gesturing for him to hurry up. The Uchiha joined the other two in the hallway, looking warily at Naruto. He stood in between the two other boys and waited for Iruka. Iruka came out of the classroom and glared at each of them.

"Someone better start explaining," he ordered simply. Sasuke looked at the boy standing beside him. Kiba was tightlipped and angry, not even looking at Iruka. Naruto was gazing at the floor like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Sasuke sighed and look at Iruka. It was up to him to tell him what happened. So he did.

"So…is what Sasuke said right? Kiba? Naruto?" Iruka asked. The Inuzuka looked up at his teacher and nodded, then looked away again. Naruto kept his eyes on the floor.

"Naruto."

The boy looked up.

"Is that what happened?"

The corner of the jinchuuriki's mouth quirked as if he was about to smirk, "Yes Iruka-sensei."

"Ok then. Kiba!" the Inuzuka flinched, "you were wrong to play a prank on Naruto in the first place. Especially since he'd done nothing to you. Apologize to him now."

Kiba started to protest, but the look on Iruka's face warned him not to.

"Sorry," he muttered angrily.

"Good. Now Naruto. You reaction was uncalled for. The moment you threatened to stab him you were in the wrong. You don't threaten your classmates. Now it's your turn to apologize to him."

"…it wasn't a threat. It was a promise," Uzumaki smirked and turned to look at Kiba, "Ah, I'm oh so sorry Kiba."

"Naruto!" Iruka just sighed and rubbed his head in frustration, "Sasuke, Kiba go back to class. I'll be there in a moment."

The two boys obeyed. Kiba took the chance to whisper 'Freak' as he passed by Naruto. The jinchuuriki laughed.

"I think you forgot something dog boy."

Kiba turned back around to see Naruto holding another pencil. He face blanched then turned red with anger. He was about to charge the other boy when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't be an idiot, just come on," Sasuke said, pulling the Inuzuka towards the classroom. When they left, it was quiet. Naruto put the pencil back in his pocket and began humming.

"Are you taking any of this seriously Naruto?"

"I am taking it seriously. The moment Kiba did that to me he became a threat to be stopped. It was pure self-defense."

"No Naruto. It was wrong of you. You're not enemies. You're classmates for god's sake. And still you threaten him and you won't even listen to what I'm telling you."

"I'm listening Iruka-sensei. It's just that you're the one who's wrong. If we were ninja and he attacked one of his teammates for no apparent reason, then he'd be punished severely."

"That's not what happened Naruto," Iruka took a deep breath and made a decision, "Naruto you have detention after school for the rest of the month."

The jinchuuriki snarled, "What? He started the whole goddamn mess. Is he getting away scot-free? "

"Kiba realized he was wrong and said he was sorry. You continued to antagonize him and you still think you were in the right. Starting tomorrow you'll stay after class and help clean up or whatever chores I decide to have you do."

The boy was literally shaking with anger. He began to take deep breaths to calm himself. Slowly his body stopped shaking, though his hands still trembled.

"Fine. Can I go back to class now?"

"Yes."

Naruto went back into the classroom. Everyone's eyes were on him, but he didn't care. He trudged back to his seat.

"You ok?" someone asked him. He turned around to look at them. Sasuke again.

"It doesn't concern you."

The Uchiha looked angry now, "Geez I was just asking. I mean we both know it was Kiba's fault and all but-"

"Leave me alone," interrupted Naruto, "Don't talk to me. Don't associate yourself with me. We aren't friends. We aren't anything besides classmates. If you keep trying then the only thing we'll be is enemies. I'll say it again. Leave me alone."

The blond then turned back around and put his head on his desk. A part of him thought he was being cruel to Sasuke. It was whiny and complained like a little brat.

_Shut up. I'm in control. You're weak. We don't need him. We don't need anyone at all._

_We have the dark gift._

* * *

Naruto was in his world again. The other was in control. Not that he could do anything about it.

The stars sparkled as the waves crashed against the shore. Naruto smiled. It was peaceful here. He fell back and lay on the sand. A faint breeze ruffled his hair. The light from the crescent moon cast shadows on his face.

Naruto shot up. He hadn't created a moon. The moon shouldn't be there.

"He made it."

Naruto looked towards the sound of the voice. Another boy walked towards him. It was Naruto. A younger version without the whisker marks on his face. And his eyes were violet.

"He made it while you were in control. Said the place was too dark," the boy said, taking a seat besides Naruto. Naruto didn't feel threatened by him. This part of him was simply an observer. It showed nothing and took in everything.

"I made it. It was mine."

The observer looked up at the moon with him, "Yes. But he's you too. We're all you."

"I know," he closed his eyes, "I know."

The breeze picked up again and a tornado no bigger than his finger twisted on the ground between them. Seashells appeared on the shore while giant palm trees sprouted from the sand.

Naruto stood and walked out into the water. He dragged his fingers through it, creating small eddies. They swirled and swirled around eventually becoming something totally different. Tiny fish were born from the swirls and they swam away from him.

"You're getting better."

"Yeah."

The waves crashed against him, but he didn't move. The world was intoxicating. It was so beautiful and breathtaking. He almost wished that he would never have to leave it.

"I don't think this is a genjutsu. It seems too different from what Kurenai-sensei said," Naruto said aloud.

"It's not. It's your mindscape. Everyone has one. All you did was change it."

"So there are other worlds like this?"

"They're not worlds. They're people's minds. But yes, there are others. Why? Do you want to see?"

"Yes," he replied. It didn't bother him that this part of him knew more than he did. The observer was smart. He'd always been smart.

"Look," the observer said, pointing out to the ocean, "there's a doorway. Go through it. Don't wander aimlessly or go too far. You'll get lost and you won't be able to come back."

"Ok."

He looked back at the ocean. Sure enough, there was now a door hovering over the black water. It was a simple door. Black with a white frame. With a thought, he was able to walk on the water towards it.

Naruto then stood in front of it. His hand gripped the door handle. He looked back at the observer. The other him simply nodded. Naruto looked back towards the door. He took a deep breath, pushed it open, and stepped through.

There was a flash of light and he was momentarily blinded. He rubbed at his eyes until his vision returned. When Naruto opened his eyes and saw what was around him he gasped.

"Wow…."

Naruto was surrounded by a sea of grass. He stood on a yellow pathway that extended in a huge circle. In the middle of the circle was a fire pit. A small tendril of smoke rose from it. The fire had gone out a long time ago.

Naruto looked around the circle. There were eight other doors besides the one he had just come from. It was weird but they all felt connected, his door included. Maybe that's why these were in a circle. It represented the connection.

Naruto gazed beyond the circle. There were other doors sure enough. But those doors were isolated unlike these. He closed his eyes, sending out chakra to feel the energy created by the nine doors. He detected little things, like emotions and vague thoughts. Then he saw it. His eyes shot open.

Naruto gasped again and grabbed at the seal on his stomach. They had it. They all had it.

The dark gift.

He thought he was the only one. Who could they have chakra like his? It made no sense. Was there other demons? Was it possible that there were others like him?

No. No way. It had to be a trick. They couldn't have the dark gift. His dad had given it to him. Only him. He frowned. He'd just have to open one of the doors and find out.

Naruto looked back at his door, memorizing it so he wouldn't get lost like the observer said. Then he turned around and walked towards the closest door. This one was a tan color with a rugged red frame. Naruto put his hand on it. It felt like sandpaper.

Suddenly he could feel the thoughts that came from beyond this door. He knew who they belonged to. It was a boy, like him. Around his age too. He saw a blurry picture of the other boy playing in sand. Then the boy looked straight at him and Naruto knew the boy could see him.

"_Who are you? What do you want?"_

Naruto was scared. He took his hand off the door and began to run for his own.

"_Don't run. You won't escape."_

The tan door suddenly swung wide open and a vortex of wind was pulling Naruto towards it. Naruto screamed as he was sucked up into it. He tried to grab the edges of the frame before he disappeared inside, but he couldn't. He vanished into the darkness of the door.

All was quiet. Then the door slammed shut.

Naruto blearily opened his eyes. The hot sun cast down on him. He looked around. Sand was everywhere. He saw small dust devils moving across the dunes.

He sat up and rubbed his head, "How'd I get here?"

"I brought you here. Now tell me who you are before I kill you," ordered the boy from before. Naruto stood and faced him. The boy in front of him had red hair and a tattoo on the left side of his forehead. Dark rings surrounded his jade eyes and he had no eyebrows. He wore a black shirt and pants along with a white sash. On top of the white sash, there was a brown one. This one looked like it was supposed to carry something, but it wasn't right then.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Who are you?"

The redhead hesitated, "…I'm known as Gaara of the sand. Why are you here? Never mind."

He made some strange gesture with his hand. The sand in front of Naruto disappeared and was replaced with a small oasis. Naruto blinked in surprise. He'd used it. The dark gift. There was no denying it now. They were the same.

"Put your hand in the water," Gaara commanded, "and call upon your memories. If you don't I'll kill you. Rather I'll crush your mind, but you'll be dead all the same."

Naruto hurried to do what Gaara asked. He shoved his hand in the water and nearly pulled it back out. The water was beyond freezing. But he didn't yank it out. Instead, he thought of his memories as Gaara had instructed.

The water began to change. His hand sent ripples through it. An image began to form. A face, his face.

"It's me," he said in wonder.

"Of course it's you. Their your memories," the redhead replied dismissively, "Now show them to me. Show me who you really are."

Naruto obeyed, the icy water sent waves of pain into his arm. The latest memories were first. How he'd threatened Kiba. Meeting Itachi and his conversation with the Hokage. The creation of his world.

It kept going along at a steady pace. Years flew by in minutes. So much of it was the same. The same people, the same hatred, and the same pain.

Then he reached the memory of that night. Naruto watched transfixed as the image showed his younger self running away from the apartment that was now up in flames. He saw it go back to him standing over the body. His eyes widened as his younger self screamed in agony, pulling at his hair. Naruto didn't want to see this. Didn't want to admit it.

He pulled his hand out of the water.

Sand began to fill the oasis once more. But the memory still played. It played to its finish even when the sand almost completely covered it. Naruto saw a red eye with a slit instead of a normal pupil before the image disappeared.

But it was too late. Gaara knew. He knew Naruto's greatest secret. Not even his dad knew. Gaara gazed at him and Naruto felt tiny under those eyes.

"You fractured yourself. But you're still alone," the redhead stated like it was a simple fact. Naruto flinched. It was true. He was alone. It didn't matter how many of him there were. It was just him.

"You're just like me."

Naruto looked up at Gaara. The other boy had a twisted smile on his face.

"You've got a monster too, "he laughed, "Guess that makes us brothers in suffering. Just like _he_ said."

_Just like who said?_

"I don't have a monster inside me," Gaara stared at him in disbelief, "Really I don't. I only have his power. The dark gift."

"The dark gift…that's a good name for it. I usually just call it Shukaku," his face twisted into a snarl, "Though the demon would have me call it mother."

"It talks to you? The Kyuubi…he's gone."

"Just because it's a demon doesn't mean it's stupid little brother. Sounds like your demon's soul was taken away. Otherwise it would talk to you too."

Gaara turned and began walking away. When he was a good distance away, he turned back and looked at Naruto as if to say 'Are you coming?'. Naruto had to run to catch up with the other boy.

"Little brother, what is your reason to exist?" Gaara asked as Naruto fell into step beside him. The blond nearly stumbled and fell on his face. First he was being called brother and now this?

_My reason to exist. Why do I exist?_ He juts didn't know. He kept thinking and looking for an answer but all he saw was darkness. No one acknowledged him. No one gave a damn about him. Indeed why then should he continue to exist? Then he saw an image.

It was his world. Only he wasn't alone anymore. Naruto was sitting on the beach staring at the sky. Sasuke was sitting next to him, burying his older brother in the sand. And they were all laughing…

"My world. I exist for my world."

Gaara scoffed, "Your world only exists in your head. It's not real. It has no effect on the real world. If that's your reason to exist then you might as well disappear."

The redhead made the strange gesture with his hand again. The sand lunged forward, jumping towards Naruto in the shape of a giant lion. The blond jinchuuriki jumped behind his 'brother'. The lion stopped and roared at him before collapsing once more into sand.

"See? That wasn't real. It doesn't have any effect in the real world. The only thing that marks the fact that it existed is our memory."

Naruto shakily came out from behind Gaara. It was just like his mindscape. Anything was possible. Only Gaara was in control, not Naruto.

"Naruto," Gaara said, using the other boy's name for the first time, "your eyes are lost. You're hurting. You can't stop the pain unless you find a purpose."

Naruto gritted his teeth, "Then tell me what's so important! You're right, no one cares about me. You're right, I am all alone. So why are you taunting me with this existence stuff?"

"Be quiet. I'm not taunting you. You just don't understand what's important," the redhead held up three fingers, "There are three things that matter in this world. Power, pain and reason.

"The power to hurt others. Being powerless enough to feel pain yourself. Pain directs all our actions. We do everything to avoid it. Reason is the most important. It binds the three together. There is a reason for your pain. You're not powerful enough to stop it. There's a reason for your power, use it and make others feel your pain. Above all is the reason for you to live. If you don't have that then you'll just wander. Lost. You'll cease to exist."

Gaara stopped walking and looked at Naruto to see if his message had been heard. Naruto just stared back. What could he say? Gaara was like the observer. He was smart. He knew things. He trusted the observer, should he trust Gaara too?

"Power, pain…and reason," repeated Naruto. Gaara nodded and they began to walk forward again.

_How does he do it? There's only one of him. But he doesn't care that he's alone. Why does he know all these things if I don't? _

"Brother?" Naruto said, the word feeling strange in his mouth.

"What?"

"What's your reason to exist?"

Gaara blinked his face impassive as he considered the question.

"My reason to exist? I guess you could say I exist to hurt the ones who hurt me. I was born a monster so my father could use me as a weapon. My mother died for that purpose. My father made me strong. He taught me all sorts of high level ninjutsu," Gaara's face morphed into a manic grin, "But then I became too powerful. I was too unstable. They realized they couldn't control me. So my father hired assassins to kill me."

"B-but he was your dad! Didn't he care about you at all?"

The redhead laughed, "He only cares about what I can do for him. Ever since that night, he keeps trying to kill me. He sends me on dangerous missions hoping someone will get through my defenses. It hurt, I was scared. Just like you little brother. I didn't have a reason to exist. So I disappeared."

Naruto backed away from the Ichibi jinchuuriki. Sand was twisting all around him, lashing out at whatever was close.

"It was worse than any hell you can ever imagine. At first I thought it would be better to die, when I disappeared I changed my mind. I realized I needed a reason to exist. So I came up with this. 'I exist to kill all humans. I will fight only for myself and love only myself. As long as there are people in this world to kill I will not cease to exist.' I said those words to myself and I was able to reappear. I was alive and more powerful than I was before. It didn't matter what my father and the others thought. I had my reason. That's all I needed."

Gaara fell silent and the sand around him fell to the ground. It was quiet between the two jinchuuriki.

"….Gaara. Are you going to kill me too?" Naruto asked quietly. Gaara's face was neutral again.

"Are you scared little brother?" the redhead questioned, "Don't you know? You're a monster like me. I won't kill you."

And Gaara was right, he was a monster. But Gaara acknowledged him as a monster. He called Naruto a brother. Wasn't that all that really mattered? As a human, he was treated like a demon. But as a monster…

He saw the red-eyed devil from the memory.

_NO._

"I have to go, brother."

"Back to your world? Fine the door is over there," and as he said it the door materialized, "Come back soon little brother. I like talking to you."

"I will, when I've found my reason," answered the blond as he walked to the door, "Goodbye."

The redhead simply waved. Naruto twisted the handle and stepped through. Again, there was a flash of light. He rubbed at his eyes. He opened them and saw the same circle and set of doors from before.

There was one thing different.

There was a tiny fire in the fire pit. It was a feeble flame. Any wind would blow it out, but it was there.

Naruto walked to his own door and stepped through. His world welcomed him. He smiled. Gaara's world was impressive, but there was nothing like his.

He walked on the water back to the beach. There were two figures waiting for him. The first was the observer. The other was another version of him. It looked angry and its red eyes glowed in the darkness of the night. Naruto thought of him as Rage.

"What took you so long?" this version of him snapped.

"You should know. You're him," the observer retorted.

"Who's in control?" Naruto asked.

"No one. You're asleep."

"Thanks to me. That Itachi keeps meddling in our business. We should kill him. Just like we should've killed that wooden guy," Rage snarled. The observer simply shook his head.

"I'm going to sleep then," Naruto declared, heading back to reality.

"Good. I have things to do. I'm gonna get revenge for today."

Naruto snapped back around to look at Rage.

"What are you going to do?"

Rage smirked, "Iruka-sensei taught us a lot today. I just thought we should show him the results of his efforts. It's not as if he ever helped you out when you needed it. You have to admit, he was unfair to us today. Let me handle it. He won't even know it was us. I can make him respect us. Surely, that's not so bad? Right Naruto?"

He asked nicely, even while he was scheming. Naruto could stop him if he wanted to, but tonight….he didn't care.

"Go ahead."

Rage cackled as Naruto walked away from them. Like always, the observer merely watched as Rage disappeared. Then he was alone.

_You think you're evil. But you don't ever do anything to change that._

* * *

Iruka dreamed he was in his classroom. He stood at the chalkboard drawing complicated diagrams and lecturing. When he turned around there was only one student there.

Uzumaki Naruto.

The boy grinned and clapped slowly.

"Iruka-sensei great lesson. Here I got you a present," the jinchuuriki pulled out a bucket full of sharpened pencils. He walked up and put it on Iruka's desk.

"Oops, looks like I forgot one."

The boy pointed to a pencil stuck in the wall. He walked over and pulled it out of the wall with ease.

"Ah now who could've done this? Whoever it was is a very bad boy right Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka tried to respond but no matter how hard he tried, no sound would come out.

Naruto tsked, "Iruka-sensei, you're not supposed to talk unless raise your hand."

Naruto grabbed another pencil from the bucket. Then he charged at Iruka. Iruka tried to move. He looked down and saw hands from the floor grabbing his feet and holding him still. Naruto grinned and stabbed the pencils into Iruka's hands.

The pencils went straight through his flesh and then pinned them to the wall. Iruka screamed as the pain assaulted him.

"What was that Iruka-sensei? You forgot to raise your hand again," the boy chortled. There was a rumbling sound. It was coming closer.

"**They're** coming Iruka-sensei, do you want me to save you?" Iruka mouthed yes, "I can't hear you Iruka-sensei. Speak up. This is your last chance. Say something or I'll leave you here."

The scarred chuunin began to cry. He begged Naruto to stop the pain, he pleaded for the boy to save him from this nightmare.

"Sorry Iruka-sensei. I couldn't hear you."

The boy backed away from him. Iruka heard the faint sound of footsteps. It was growing louder and louder. It was like an army marching in tune. The door was slammed open. They filled the room.

It was dozens of people, all shapes and sizes but they had one thing in common. A simple white mask that had fox-like slits for eyes and a grand smile. A little one walked up to Iruka, a pencil in hand. She stared up at him in curiosity and then shoved the pencil into his stomach. The others followed suit. Each took a pencil from the bucket and stabbed him.

He no longer even had his eyes. They'd been gouged out. Iruka screamed and this time he heard it. He screamed while Naruto laughed.

"Have you learned your lesson sensei?"

Iruka didn't respond, he just howled as more and more of the sharp objects punctured him.

"This is why. THIS IS WHY I EXIST!" Naruto declared, "I will make my world a reality. This is my world I control it. I control you. And I can hurt you, just like now. Just like you've hurt me."

The masked people disappeared along with the pencils. Iruka slumped to the ground. In reality, Iruka shot up from his bed in a cold sweat. The boy's mocking voice still reached him.

"_**This is only the beginning."**_


	3. Recollection

**There is a quake that rips the soul asunder. . . it is the pain of remembering. - J. R. Ward**

* * *

In an endless red void, Rage opened his eyes. He slowly floated upwards until the red met black. Then he had to hold his breath as he swam through the dark waters. Rage could see the light now. He swam towards it, breaking the surface.

He was back in the mindscape. Rage made his way toward shore. He frowned, it was raining lightly. That had never happened before. When he reached the beach, he shook like a dog, water spraying everywhere.

"You've come back from torturing an innocent man?"

Rage glared at the observer. Those violet eyes simply stared back at him, condemning him.

"No one's innocent," he retorted, "What the hell is he doing? Why's it raining?"

"You don't know? It's his- our birthday. We're remembering. You were 'asleep' this time last year."

"That doesn't explain the rain."

"This world…it changes as we change. He's upset, thus it rains. This is just the beginning of change. The first memory hasn't even started yet."

Rage snorted. Memories? Boring. He had half a mind to go back and visit Iruka in his dreams. He couldn't though. It was too dangerous to do it twice on one night. Not to mention he'd haunted the man every night for a week straight.

"I'm going back to the void. You can stay and watch if you want. I've seen it all already," the observer began to wade through the dark waters. Rage thought the observer was insane. How could anyone want to return to the void? Rage hated it when Naruto shoved him in it. But the observer always went willingly, most of the time on his own.

"Why would I want to watch it? All that it'll be is pain and hatred. That's all it's ever been."

The observer turned to look at him, "Don't you want to know how you were born. How you came to exist? You don't know anything of our life before that point. That's how he's hiding it from you. He's literally hiding the source of all his shame and guilt from himself. He doesn't trust himself."

"I don't feel shame. I'm not guilty at all. And as you like to remind me, I'm him. We're Naruto."

"Why don't you stay and find out?" the observer shook his head, "I've got to go. I've wasted too much time."

The violet-eyed boy descended into the waters and didn't come back up. Rage narrowed his eyes. Naruto was keeping things from him? What right did he have to do that? They were all him. They all deserved to know.

Then the light disappeared. The stars were gone. Ominous clouds covered the waxing crescent moon. Rage could barely see his hands in front of his face. Thunder rumbled in the distance. The rain pelted down harder, causing Rage to take shelter by one of the palm tree.

Then there was a voice. His voice. It reverberated across the mindscape.

"_Darkness. It began in darkness."_

Images begin to flicker in the sky and Rage smirked.

_I'm gonna find out our secrets Naruto. Whatever it is that you're hiding, it makes you vulnerable. Just what I need._

* * *

_Darkness. It began in darkness._

_My first thought then was some wordless thought of wonder and purpose. I would translate it to 'I am here. I am here, but who and where am I?' I don't know how long I thought that. Time didn't exist in the darkness. It might have been a century; it might have been a second. I don't know._

_Then the voices came. The first voice…it was __**his. **__It was a deep mocking laughter that I first heard. __**He**__ was the first thing that I could hear talking to me. So I listened._

"_**Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki! Thank you for existing. Thank you for being my escape. I'll think of your sacrifice when I kill your parents and you,"**__ the fox laughed. Then it was quiet. I knew Kyuubi was still there. Lurking. Waiting._

_There was another voice. Soft and gentle, it caressed every word that it said._

"_Hello…Naruto. It's me your mom. I wonder if you can hear me?" the voice chuckles softly. But it's not like the fox's cruel laugh. It's nice; it made me feel warm and good. I wanted to get closer to it._

"_I love you Naruto. I can't wait to meet you. There are so many amazing things in this world. I want to share them all with you," she laughed again, "That's something your dad told me when we started going out. He's gone now, doing a bunch of required paperwork. But he'll be back soon."_

_And she continues to talk, weaving the tale of her life as she goes. I wanted to see her. I wanted to be held in her arms. My mother. I reach out with my formless body, pressing against her, trying to get out._

"_Kicking already? That's my strong Naruto. But it'll be a couple months before you're ready to be born," she pauses, and then talks not to me but to someone else, "Minato! You're home early."_

_They whisper together. Suddenly there's a warm hand next to me. I pressed against it, reveling in the feeling._

"_Wow…," a new voice says quietly, "I can feel him. His chakra…he has so much already. Can you hear me Naruto? I'm your dad. You're gonna be so strong one day. I just know it."_

"_Maybe he'll become Hokage like you."_

_Dad moved his hand away, "Only if he wants to be. I wouldn't wish that much paperwork on anybody. I wonder what he'll be like when he gets older."_

"_He'll have your blond hair and blue eyes. Hopefully your smile too."_

"_It seems like he's already got your massive chakra stores. He'll probably act like you too," he paused, then in mock horror, "That means we won't eat anything besides ramen."_

_Mom laughed again, "Not true. I eat things besides ramen sometimes."_

"_The last time you ate something other than ramen was two days ago. I cooked."_

"_Well, I'll cut down when he's born. I guess two ramen fiends wouldn't be that good. Oh!" she exclaimed, "Naruto, I met one of your friends today."_

_I leaned up against her again. I wanted the warm hand back. _

"_Who are you talking about Kushina?"_

"_Mikoto's little boy. Sasuke. She was able to leave the hospital today. I saw her with the baby and Itachi as they were leaving. Ah, Itachi. That little toddler is so serious."_

"_What happened?"_

"_He was holding Sasuke and I asked if I could take him for a second. He looked up at me and said 'Only if you be careful. No dropping him.' I promised not to, but he had to be convinced by Mikoto before he let Sasuke go."_

"_Wow, he's protective already."_

"_Yes, I told him that he didn't need to be. Itachi just shook his little head and said 'That's what big brothers do'. Anyway Naruto, Sasuke's gonna be your friend. I spend way too much time around Mikoto for you boys not to be," she laughed._

"_A big brother eh? You won't have one of those, Naruto," Dad stated sadly, putting his hand back, "But maybe we'll convince your mom to give you a little brother or sister."_

"_Minato!"_

_And they were so happy and laughing. I wanted to be there with them. I was tired of wordless thoughts and this formless body of mine. Then the fox's voice returned._

"_**You're right. He'll be strong like both of you. Only…he'll be a monster like me."**_

_Everything went cold. I knew I wasn't the only one who heard that. Something shifted, and the energy around me is askew. Then something amazing happened._

_I could see. It wasn't just darkness either. I could see!_

_What I was seeing, I didn't know back then. I had no words for anything, nor understanding. I do now._

_Mom and Dad were standing in front of a huge cage. They were up to their ankles in water. There were pipes everywhere like a sewer. My parents weren't smiling anymore. Kyuubi was there, grinning as its tails swished behind him._

"_**I've seen it. Your little Naruto will grow up and destroy everything you stand for."**__ the fox cackled, __**"More my son than yours really."**_

"_You're wrong," Mom stepped forward, challenging him, "Naruto won't be like I was. He'll have us. We'll protect him."_

"_**You can't protect him from everything."**_

"_We will," Dad assured, "You won't taint him. He'll be born and you'll stay inside. You won't escape!"_

_They stand united against the demon. The me from the present wants to run to them, warn them, hold on and never let go. But I can't. I can only watch, a shade from the future. This is where the first memory stops. Where it's always stopped._

_Then something that never happened happens. A new action takes place within a memory. Time stops. My parents no longer move or breathe. The ripples in the water are frozen in place. I'm standing in front of the fox's cage and he's growling in amusement._

"_**Little fragment of the future. Little Naruto, demon of Konoha," **__the fox roars__**, "I can see you!"**_

_I take a step back. Impossible. He can't see me. This is my memory. I feel the water move at my feet. I look down. It's me, as a baby. The baby looks up at me with innocent blue eyes._

"_**You're thinking it's an illusion right? But it's not. I'm here. I'm talking to you on your eighth birthday,"**__ Kyuubi smirks, tails now thrashing wildly against his cage bars, __**"You're thinking that I'm dead. You think I only gave you the dark gift. Well…you're wrong."**_

"_What do you want? It's not possible. Dad got rid of you. He stole your soul. You're both dead," the baby yanks at my pants, like it wants to be picked up. I ignore it._

"_**I am gone in the future. This is a memory. One you've never remembered until now. You weren't ready before. Really, you're still not ready, but I have to let you know now."**_

"_Let me know what?"_

_He doesn't answer. One of his tails pokes through the bars. The baby reaches for it. I smack the tail away and stand between it and the baby. Kyuubi smiles, he reaches through the bars with his claws this time. He's holding a box. It's small and red. He pushes me away easily. As I fall to the ground, he presses the box to the baby's chest and it disappears._

"_**You can't open it now. It will open soon though."**_

"_Crazy. This is crazy," I whisper to myself, "Can't be happening. A memory within a memory?"_

_Kyuubi snorts, __**"Everything is possible. A memory within a dream. A future that changes the past. The lies that weave together to form the inescapable truth. Don't tell me impossible boy."**_

_The memory begins to end, and everything is thrown into chaos. Colors run and black holes start to appear. My parents and the baby me vanish._

"_**We'll meet again boy,"**__ he promises, then he too begins to vanish. The last I see of him are his red eyes looking at me, so sure I'll do what he wants. Then I'm flung into the next memory in the sequence._

* * *

Rage hung onto the tree's trunk as wave after wave crashed into him. Lightning flashed in the distance and the following thunder threatened to break his eardrums. He blearily opened his eyes to the turmoil in front of him. The ocean frothed and attacked the shore like a vicious animal. He was doing all he could to escape it.

It was worth it. These memories were worth it. Already he had learned so much. It didn't matter how drenched he got. It didn't matter because this pain was nothing compared to everything else he'd been through.

"This all you got Naruto? You can't get rid of me that easily!" Rage roared at the indifferent black skies, "Show me all your goddamn secrets!"

Lightning struck again. This time it's target was the red-eyed boy screeching up at the heavens. Rage screamed as the electricity surged through him. A second of pure agony and then it let him go.

He fell to the ground, a burning carcass. The thunder this time was like a parent scolding a mischievous child. Rage growled softly. He tried to get up, telling himself that pain was imaginary. Still he couldn't. So he settled for leaning against the now blackened palm tree.

"I don't care what you do to me. I can take it. We can take it. Now show me," and obediently the skies resumed the memory sequence.

* * *

"_Kyuubi you stay in. Naruto come out!" Dad shouted in frustration. There were so many voices and people. Kyuubi's was the loudest. He was roaring in defiance, doing his best to escape and kill all of us. But he's failing, and I could see. I could see the light._

_I am born. I am alive._

_But instead of being in the arms of Mom or Dad, I'm in Madara's. He's so cold and everything about him feels wrong. He wanted to kill me. Him and Dad argue. Dad saves me from Madara and he teleports us back home._

"_Stay here Naruto, stay safe," and he's gone again. Even without being there to witness it, I know things are changing as fast as they stay the same. Just the beginning of an end. An end to the beginning._

_Dad's back. This time he's got Mom with him. He lays her down next to me on the bed._

"_Minato, you've got to stop him."_

"_I know," Dad throws on his white and red cloak, "I'll be back."_

_With another yellow flash, he's gone again. Mom looks at me with tired eyes. Something's different about her. I realize what it is quickly. The fox is gone. I remember why the me from now hates her._

"_My little Naruto," she holds me close to her and strokes my hair, "I'm so sorry this had to happen."_

_My baby self merely lays against her, taking in her warmth. The me from now looks at her through those eyes. Those eyes say 'It's your fault. You said you could keep caged in you. You said you would protect me. You __**lied.'**_

_The screams of Konoha reach us even though we're far away. There are tears in mom's eyes. I bet she's wondering how many of her friends are already dead. 'It's your fault. You let him out!' is what I want to shout at her. I want her hands to be as cold as Madara's were. I want to move away and I can't._

"_I love you Naruto. More than anything," she whispers. My hand reached out and touched her face gently and she laughs weakly, "Already ready to fight? It'll be ok Naruto. Your dad will fight to protect the both of us and the village."_

_And she's right. Dad never breaks his promises. Dad never lies. Dad's a hero. And he's back again, blindingly fast. He grabs Mom and me and flashes out of the house. Just then the fox crashes down on it._

_Dad's tired and Mom's coughing up blood. Still she manages to trap the Kyuubi in a giant chakra net. _

"_I still have a little chakra left. I can seal the fox back into me. Then it'll disappear for a while at least. That's the only way both of you can survive," she says stubbornly. I wish she would. I wish that's what had actually happened. At least I'd have Dad. I wouldn't be alone._

_Dad starts to cry, "You made me a husband. You made me the Hokage. You made me this boy's father…I can't let you go like this."_

"_Minato, you've made me so happy. I'm glad that we got to be together this once. Whenever I thought of our future I was filled with joy. And right now, I'm still happy. It's our son's birthday. I have to do this for Naruto."_

"_No," he wipes away the tears, "It's a father's job to protect the family. That's what I plan to do. You can seal the last bit of your chakra into Naruto. That way you'll at least be able to meet each other. He'll need a mother's love Kushina."_

"_What about you? You could be alive for him! He needs a father too Minato!"_

"_If you seal the fox away like that then it'll come back without a jinchuuriki. It'll disrupt the bijuu balance. I have an idea."_

_They start talking about seals and complicated things. Kyuubi growls and fixes one of its eyes on me. Dad is hastily drawing a seal on my stomach and doesn't notice. When he's finished with mine, he makes a similar seal on his own. The bijuu chooses that moment to strike._

_A giant claw descends on us all. Killing intent swallows everything whole. My baby self wails. The tip of the claw is less than a centimeter from my head. Impaled on it is my mom._

"_If this is a job for the father, then the mother should do it even better," Mom says, coughing up blood. Dad looks up at her in horror._

"_No…no…."_

"_I'm so glad you're both safe."_

"_**Damn humans,"**__ growls the demon. My parents ignore him, focused only on each other._

"_I love both of you so much. Keep him safe Minato. Thanks…for everything," she closed her eyes and fell limp. Dad is still shocked, still looking at her like she'll pop up again and everything will be alright. Kyuubi wrenches her off his claw and she falls to the ground, blood splattering everywhere._

"_No…NO! KUSHINA!" _

_He's so angry and sad at the same time. Somehow he pulls it together and stands up. I'm still in his arms, I looked up at his determined face. A man who has nothing to lose. That's who he is now._

"_SEAL!"_

_The world explodes with light. When I come to, I'm in a white void. The Kyuubi and Dad are fighting. The fox keeps swiping and slashing at him, but Dad's too fast for that. The fox roars in frustration and it sends Dad flying back._

"_**You'll accomplish nothing by doing this, even if you do succeed. No matter how many times you seal me, I'll escape."**_

"_You're right," Dad admits, "You escaped every jinchuuriki so far. That's why I'm going to stop this cycle."_

_Dad rushes towards the fox, chakra spiraling in his palm. Kyuubi tries to hit him with one of his tails but Dad vanishes. He keeps flashing back and forth all around the confused bijuu._

_There's suddenly over a hundred afterimages of dad and the original, each holding a sphere of chakra._

"_Hiraishin level three," he whispers, then each afterimage attacks the fox, "RASENGAN!"_

_Kyuubi roared as each Rasengan tore into him, finally dropping to the ground, thoroughly pummeled._

"_**Curse you Minato…,"**__ he mutters._

"_No, curse you Kyuubi! You ruined Kushina's life while you were in her. Now it's your fault she's dead!"_

_The demon began to laugh, __**"And I'll do the same to little Naruto. All you're doing is passing on the Uzumaki curse."**_

"_You won't touch my son. He won't even know your name," Dad vowed. He teleports to where I'm sitting and picks me up once more. Then we're back, facing the fox as it wearily rises to its feet again._

"_Seal," he says calmly. Suddenly there's a vacuum originating from my seal and it's trying to suck up the fox. Kyuubi tries to get away, but it can't. Then the demon blurs and it's like there's two of him. _

_It's his chakra. Dad's sealing the fox's chakra inside me. The chakra gets sucked up easily and vanishes inside the seal. The fox growls weakly. What remains of the great nine tailed bijuu is an emaciated looking animal._

_The demon looks at me and I'm reminded of the memory where he addressed me personally. He's observing me like he knows everything about me. He's thinking hard and he finally comes to a decision._

_Kyuubi finally says, __**"No one can break you if you're already broken."**_

"_Seal," Dad says again. This time Kyuubi himself gets sucked up into the seal. With a final roar, he disappears forever. Dad drops to his knees, breathing hard. He coughs and blood splatters on my hands._

"_Sorry Naruto. Looks like this is it," he smiles, "We taught that old fox a lesson didn't we? Never underestimate a father and his son._

"_There are so many things I want to tell you, but we don't have time. I want you to be safe. That's why I gave you this dark gift. But be careful. Don't use it. Don't ever use that power until someone's taught you to control it. Someone will find out and I'm afraid they'll kill you. I won't even be there to save you," I reach out and touch his face, and his eyes tear up, "I'm so sorry for making you carry this burden Naruto. I hope you can forgive me."_

_Something happens to him. He grabs at his hair in frustration. One of his eyes glows red. He begins to talk again in a voice that is and isn't his, the red eye never leaving my face._

"_Trust no one. Don't ever let anyone know the truth about you. Above all don't use the power. You are Naruto Uzumaki. You are Naruto Uzumaki and you are alone. You always will be."_

_Dad shakes his head in anger and when he opens his eyes again, they're both blue and he's crying._

"_Naruto. There are so many amazing things in this world. I hope you get to see every last one of them. Don't ever forget, I love you son."_

_And he disappears in a flash for the last time. And I'm alone for the first time. His blood is still on my hands. The void slowly turns red._

_As I hang there in the endless red abyss, my past self thinks its first thought with words._

'_My name is Naruto Uzumaki. And I am alone.'_

Rage stumbled to his feet. The beach was gone. All that remained was a little island with him and the lone palm tree.

"_My name is Naruto Uzumaki. And I am alone."_

* * *

"Shut up," Rage mumbled, then louder, "Shut up!"

The memories flashed across the sky at a much more tremendous pace. All showed the pain, hatred and the goddamn loneliness.

"Why don't you just shut up you big brat? You cry baby! All you say is 'I'm alone, I'm alone, I'M ALONE!' Then you whine and think to yourself about how unfair it is. Grow the hell up! I'm ashamed to be you! I hate you! I hate myself."

Waves barreled into him, but he was already drenched. He just kept a grip on the tree and shouted at the sky.

"If you're so lonely why don't you do something about it? The other day you went up to Sasuke and apologized for what I did. He asked to be friends with you. You know what you said? DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU SAID?" Rage yelled, "YOU SAID NO! You said no, that you were dangerous. You said no, you wouldn't be a good friend. You said no, he doesn't understand. But you are the one who doesn't understand.

"You blamed us. The parts of yourself that you somehow created. You barely acknowledge us and we're you! Why the hell am I here Naruto? Why am I you of all people? What do you need me for?" the red-eyed boy howled with fury, "I can stop the pain and hatred. I know how to use the power. I know how to fight. I know how to kill! And you won't let me! What am I supposed to do Naruto?"

A tsunami approaches the tiny isle. It flows into the face of a fox, a snarling face full of hate about to descend on him.

Rage simply stood and faced it, "You're so weak and I can't protect you because you won't let me. You're such a baby focusing only on keeping Dad's promises! Make your own fucking decisions for once! Choose to take a stand for yourself or choose to die like the goddamn coward you are!"

The tsunami smashes into the island, swallowing it whole. Rage is thrown about in the chaos. He manages to swim upward and find the surface. With a thought, he is able to and does walk on the water. He looks up at the sky. There it is. The memory he was waiting for.

"_Would you like to play a game?"_

Pathetic little him. So desperate for attention.

"_Please? It won't take long, I promise."_

So powerful and powerless at the same time.

The ocean doesn't calm yet. It starts to swirl and spin. Faster and faster. The wind howls in his ears as he runs away from the growing vortex.

"It's too late Naruto. You can't stop me now," Rage whispers, eyes never leaving the memory now playing in the sky.

* * *

"_Would you like to play a game?" I ask Oji-san. Please play with me, please play, please play._

"_Please? It won't take long, I promise," I plead. He looks at me with that serious face of his. I want him to say yes. I need him to say yes. Acknowledge me. Realize that I exist. Something is so wrong with me. I need him to see it. I need to be fixed._

_Someone rushes into the office, "Hokage-sama! Urgent message from Cloud."_

_And who do I think I'm fooling? The look Ojii-san has on his face right now is the look he has when he talks about those precious to him. And he's not looking at me. He's looking at this village so full of hatred and he sees love. _

_And he's not ever gonna look at me that way. Only my parents looked at me like that._

_I smile a little, remembering them. My hands fall to my sides. The game drops to floor. And I'm gone._

_I'm running as fast as I can. I run out of the tower. I run into the village streets. The rain falls like tears down my face. I run like a madman barely avoiding running into the villagers._

_Maybe if I keep running nothing will ever catch me. Just running so fast that everything becomes a blur and insignificant. Nothing would matter. There'd be no pain, no hate, and no loneliness. No power._

_But you can't run away from two things: the truth and yourself._

_I slip and fall, banging my head on the ground. People gather around, their bodies and shadows looming over me. Words are falling out of their mouths and I try not to listen. Don't they understand? They mock me, hate me, and condemn me for who I am. But I'm only this way because of them! I'm saving them every breath I take. As long as I exist, the dark gift can't destroy them._

_It wants to. It wants to annihilate everything. Sometimes it makes me want to too. It's hard to resist it. My head pounds everyday as its heavy presence fills my mind._

_It's not Kyuubi. It's older and grander than him. It's not darkness. It's hatred in it's purest form. Everything is the object of its hate. It wants to eradicate, annihilate, and utterly destroy all existence. It is un-life._

_This is what the Kyuubi had inside him. This is what made him so powerful. And I wonder, was he born a demon or did the dark gift make him one?_

_Was he like me? A boy sacrificed to protect something greater than him. Or was he more like Gaara? Born a weapon to be used when needed? Did he finally crack under the dark gift's pressure? Did he choose to give into it? Regardless he became a monster and was able to assert his existence._

_But I'm not him. I'm Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto, son of the Fourth Hokage. Uzumaki Naruto, son of the previous Jinchuuriki. Uzumaki Naruto, wielder of a power he can barely keep beneath the surface. _

_Their words are opening a door for it. It grips the knob, ready to lunge forward and take control. I get up and walk away. There's no need to run anymore. I can't escape my destiny. _

_I walk slowly home and all the villagers seem to fade away. I don't see what my dad or Oji-san thinks is so special about them. To me, they're like a mob bent on hate and cruelty even towards themselves. Each wears the same mask. They think no one can see the real them but they're so wrong. I can see them. _

_I see them when they steal from each other. I see them when they hurt each other with jagged words. I see them when they kill each other. Quarrels, fights, love, friends and the sick truth of how it's all a bunch of lies anyway._

_But still, they come together as one. They sense the enemy. They don the mask that makes them a united army. Makes them, __**them. **__I see them. And I am the enemy. _

_I shake my head. It's hurting so bad. The dark gift is corrupting my thoughts again. Twisting them to the point where it seems like they originate from me. I reach into my pocket and pull out some painkillers. I swallow three and hope that they work. _

_I'm in front of my apartment now. My safe haven. I open the door and walk into the complex. No one else lives here, so Oji-san let me pick whichever one I wanted. I picked a plain apartment. Not too small, not too big. White walls, and a gray floor. But that was good. When I'm here, the dark gift quiets and I can think again. I can be a kid again._

_I climb the stairs and then turn into the hallway. There's my apartment door. Something's different. I sniff the air and a strange chemical fills my nostrils. I gag and hold my hand over my nose. It was probably a stink bomb or something. Some genin had thrown one in the complex a couple months ago. Probably thought it was funny to do it again._

_I should've turned around. I should've seen it coming. I should've screamed bloody murder and ran away. But I didn't. My hand turned the doorknob. I pushed it open. And hell begins._

-Rage created jutting pillars of rock for him to jump onto. The whirlpool was growing bigger and bigger. It was hard to avoid getting sucked down into it. He watched in fascination as black waters turned crimson. The maelstrom tore his pillars to pieces and he was forced to jump away.-

_I don't have time to even think before a hand reaches out and grabs my throat. Another hand covers my mouth. I look in horror as one of __**them**__ stands before me, grinning. He's a fat man with thick lips and a receding hairline. The stink of alcohol on his breath makes my eyes tear up. The man is filthy. Everything about him is dirty. _

_He slaps a piece of tape on my mouth so I can't scream. He smiles and takes out a kunai. He plunges it through my hand, pinning it to the wall. He repeats, except with my other hand._

_It hurts. I'll admit that. It hurts like hell. But it's nothing compared to what I've already been through. This man…he's so stupid. Doesn't he realize what he's doing? Attacking me of all people? Does he want to be destroyed?_

_The man smiles, his bloodshot eyes meet mine, "I've finally caught you Kyuubi. Now I can make you pay. You've ruined me. I was a chuunin. I had a family. You took that all away….Now I can repay the favor."_

_He's going to kill me. He's going to kill me. I don't want to die. I don't want to die._

_I can't die._

_The door is open. The power floods through. Chakra burns the tape away and the man screams in horror. I feel invincible, immortal. I yank my hands from the wall. Then I rip out the kunai embedded in each one. My hands heal as if the kunai were never there._

_The man falls to the floor, blubbering in fear. I advance upon him slowly. I can't stop myself. So many thoughts are rushing to my head._

_The enemy, he's the enemy. I gotta kill him. I gotta destroy him. He knows too much. He sees the power. The power that I wasn't supposed to use but I'm using it and it's all his fault and he should just go die. But I don't want to kill him but I need to. Like I need to breathe I need to kill him. The dark gift is howling at me, tearing at my mind for control. Its vague emotions transforms into a thread of jumbled thoughts._

_**Pain. Terror. COWARD. Hurt him. Kill him. Make him bleed. MAKE HIM REGRET.  
**_

_And I'm agreeing with it. I grin madly as I approach the man. A problem needs a solution right? This man tried to kill me. He is the problem. The dark gift and I, we are the solution._

_- _Rage made the mistake of falling in the water. He yelled as the burning hot water scalded him He immediately created a rock pillar beneath him, rising himself out of the water.-

"_**You thought you had me didn't you?"**__ I say, speaking for the first time, __**"You thought you could kill me? You're a fool."**_

_My hand shoots forward like a spear. The man stares at it, transfixed, as it tears through his chest. Blood splatters everywhere, and I smile, taking in the scent. Delicious. I literally hold his heart in my hand. It's beat is erratic and quick._

"_**You called me Kyuubi. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. Kyuubi is dead,"**__ my hand squeezes his heart ever so slightly, __**"and so are you."**_

_-_The pillar was torn apart and Rage was falling to the water once more. If only he could change himself like he changed the world. Slowly a smile crept its way onto his face. Why shouldn't he be able to? Nothing was impossible here. With that thought he fell towards the water. Closer and closer he came. The ocean waited eagerly but he never crashed into it.-

"_Monster, you're a monster," the man mutters, eyes so full of fear. He says this. The man who wanted to murder a child. I'm laughing at him now. I'm laughing so hard that it brings tears to my eyes. It's a laughter tinged with madness._

_My mind is crumbing and I know it. It's starting to fracture and the dark gift is crawling into those cracks. And does it really matter? Because one of the people I'm protecting tried to kill me. Why am I trying anyway? I should just give in. I stop laughing._

"_**Monster? Monster? What's that word supposed to mean? You think that makes me lower than you? Makes you better than me? Don't you see my hand in your chest? I do. Don't you see the power I have? I do. Don't you see yourself at my mercy? I do. You're not better than me. What right do you have to call me a monster?" **__I snarl, giving his heart another squeeze, __**"Even if I am one. I saved your pathetic life. I saved this whole village. Tell me, does it really matter whether it's a demon or a hero that saves the world?"**_

_The man begins hacking up blood in response. He's so weak. It makes me sick. This is the kind of vermin that the Hokages look at as 'precious'._

"_**You know what? I think you're all just jealous. If everyone had this kind of power, I'd be accepted. They want the power but do not understand it. They do not understand it so they fear it. They fear it thus they hate it because it makes them afraid," **__I use my free hand to tilt his head up at me so we could see eye to eye, __**"Do you want it? Do you want my power too? My dark gift, my dark curse."**_

_-_Rage hovered above the boiling ocean and the vicious maelstrom. Black bat-like wings extend from his back.

"Can't get me now Naruto," he chortled.-

"_**Too bad. It's mine. I paid for it with blood and innocence. But I let you see it. And everything has a price."**_

_So with a grin on my face, I crush his heart._

_And now there's a corpse on my apartment floor._

_And now there's a murderer laughing like a madman._

_And it's me._

_The dark gift stops tormenting me momentarily. It approves of my actions and is calmed by the blood I've just spilt. My headache eases away and the thin veil of red chakra that covered me disappears._

_Suddenly I'm so far away, examining the scene like an observer. Someone with a detached sense of reality._

_I see a boy with blood on his hands. I see tears falling down his face. I see him as a monster. I see his victim on the floor. I see the emotions he's hidden so carefully start to pour out. I see the evil inside him that he keeps locked away. I see him about to give up._

"_N-N-Naruto," a voice says weakly. It shocks me enough to bring me back to my body. I look down._

_And instead of the man lying there dead, it's Dad. He's in so much pain and it's my fault. He's looking at me with those blue eyes so unlike mine and blaming me._

"_How could you?"_

_I can't breathe. Tears swell up in my eyes. I reach towards him, blood dripping from my hands. He moves away in fear._

"_Why Naruto? I told you not to. I warned you. You killed this man. You're killing me."_

"_I didn't mean to. It was his fault. He wanted to hurt me Dad! And I- I was so scared. I had to, I had to."_

"_You didn't have to do anything besides live. You could've run away."_

_My throat is raw and everything hurts even though I'm not bleeding, "You don't understand Dad. It's so hard. This thing is in my head and it's tearing me apart. It wants to kill. It makes me want to kill. But I enjoy it anyway. There's something wrong with me and I don't know how to fix it. No one notices, not even Oji-san. I've been broken Dad."_

"_You were broken from the start Naruto," and he slumps to the ground, dead._

_All I can do is stare at him in shock._

'_Monster, you demon child,' the villagers whisper._

_And all I can see is the crimson liquid on my hands._

'_There's something wrong with him…' one of my peers says with a nervous glance._

_And all my mind can do is burst into pain._

_Crack. I've never been wanted, much less acknowledged. I was just a burden to everyone's existence. I've been surrounded by lies. No one tells me the truth. No one cares. No one wants the real ME alive. They only want a container. An object to hold evil._

_Crack. I'm losing against the dark gift. It's been corrupting me from the second it was put inside me. Or maybe I'm really just that evil. I do want to hurt people. I want revenge. I want to show them what a real monster looks like._

_Crack! And I don't want to. I want to listen to what Dad told me. There's a reason for all of this. I don't what it is or why I was chosen but it's got to be important. I can't let him down. I can't give up now. But I don't have a solution. I don't know what I'm supposed to do or how I can stop the dark gift's influence._

_Crack! Kyuubi said if you're already broken then no one can break you. An idea comes into my head. A crazy plan that makes no sense and is surely influenced by my madness. But it's the only plan. Because sometimes when you lose you also win. Because sometimes there are sacrifices and second chances. And I think I've just decided how much I'm willing to sacrifice for my second chance. How much I'm going to lose so he can win. I smile one last time. Then I seize a hold of my mind and tear it to shreds._

_CRACK!_

_The world shatters around me. I float in an endless red void. I'm screaming in agony. My fingers dig into my scalp and my eyes close. The pain won't stop. It will never stop. The faithful companion who sails into oceans of madness with me. There's only so much pain a body can take. It shuts down. But in the mind, anything is possible. _

_So in reality, my body falls and lays still on the floor next to the dead man. In my mind it's only begun._

* * *

The winged boy was grinning, the truth was right in front of him. A plan, he'd been a part of it somehow. He was important, he mattered. He had a purpose.

Then at that exact moment, the skies was gone. There was only darkness. The words of the memory still played but they were blurry and hard to hear.

"Why? Why won't you show me?" Rage whispered, then louder in anger, "Don't I deserve it? I've always been here. I was always doing what I thought I was supposed to. I just want to know!"

"Fragments don't need to know anything. They only need to focus on their jobs."

Rage looked down at the maelstrom. Slowly a person rose from it, unharmed and untouched. The figure wore samurai armor. The armor was covered in bloodstains and old battle scars. The samurai was able to walk air, and he did, approaching Rage.

"I can't do my job. So I want to know why it was my job in the first place! A fragment can have rights too can't they? Just because we're a broken of piece of an original doesn't mean we can't know the truth. Who the hell are you anyways?"

The samurai shakes his head, his helmet rattling, "I am the one who fights. I am the warrior. You are the one who is supposed to protect and carry the anger. You are not protecting him. You are undermining him. You have no right to this knowledge."

"The observer knows!" Rage retorted, "He knows everything. He sits there and watches everything happen with those calm violet eyes. Always correcting, always condemning but most of all he's always watching."

"That is his job. He is the one who watches and hides the truth. You are not him. You are Naruto. You're duty is to help him. Naruto…he is the most important thing. He can not be let down," the warrior drew his sword and pointed it at Rage, "Neither can he be persuaded into doing anything he doesn't want to. You will not use this information to control him."

Rage was shaking now, trembling with 'rage', "You should understand. You should understand most of all. But…I guess not everyone wants to become whole….Let's go."

And they charged at each other.

* * *

_The red void is pain redefined. It's everything that hell should be. The dark gift is trying to make me forget. Trying to make me give up on this plan of mine. But I don't. I remember what I'm fighting for. There's one thought. A child thought. This thought is the most important thing. A realization that changes everything._

"…_I don't want to be alone anymore," I whisper to the dark gift. It shrinks back, away from me. The pain lessens and I am able to continue the thought._

"_I don't want to be alone. I will not be alone," I declare. The emotions confuse it. It can't comprehend the need for others. I use this time to create a door and escape the void. Now I'm in the darkness and the dark gift in the form of a fox lies in front of me._

"_I am not alone. I am many and I am one. I am broken and I am whole. I am real and you are an illusion."_

_And then I plunge my hands into the chakra and begin to create._


	4. Recollection Concluded

**I had no intention of deceiving anyone. It's just that none of you could understand...My true self.- Aizen Sosuke, Bleach.**

* * *

Rage swiped down with his clawed hand and the warrior blocked it with his katana. An armored foot smashed into the red-eyed boy's stomach and he went flying back. Cursing, he used his wings to right himself. The warrior was already there; only the soft hiss of his blade moving against the wind signified he had moved.

The sword was quick. Even though Rage had moved his arms upwards to block it, it simply cut him superficially and continued on. The warrior continued the flurry of quick small slices that soon left Rage littered with bleeding cuts. Rage roared, sending a shockwave of pure chakra at the warrior. He had to quit the offensive and back away.

The red-eyed boy charged forward, fist raised and ready to go. The warrior stared indifferently at him, not even bothering to raise his sword. Rage snarled and punched. And went right through the warrior. It was an afterimage. He had just enough time for his eyes to widen in shock. He had just enough time to look over his shoulder. Then the warrior was upon him.

With two hands gripping the hilt of the katana, he swung. The blade whistled in the wind as it came down on the back of Rage's head. There was a moment of realization, where Rage thought slowly, _oh…I'm hurt._ Then the force behind the blow sent him hurtling down towards the crimson ocean. He crashed into the water, and was sucked up into the maelstrom.

With a sigh, the warrior swung his sword behind him, flinging off the blood. Then he sheathed it.

"How pathetic," he said disgusted.

* * *

_How do you stop a thing whose only goal is to destroy all existence? I smirk, molding the chakra into familiar shapes. Simple. You make it create._

* * *

_Create,_ Rage thought as he spiraled down deeper and deeper into the unforgiving whirlpool. His head ached and his body was on fire from the burning water._ Creating is how this whole mess started. Creating led to the observer, this annoying guy and me. Creating led to despair and headaches. But…it also led to this world. This reality of ours. And I…also have the power to create._ Rage's eyes began to glow as he gathered chakra. And with a wordless howl, he released it, changing everything.

A ripple of red chakra surged throughout the mindscape. There was a hissing sound and smoke rose in great giant vapors from the ocean as it evaporated. The warrior growled and unsheathed his sword once more. Sending chakra into the katana, he swung it forward making a blade of wind that cut through the smoke.

The entire area was different. It was a rocky terrain with mountains and stone outcrops. What remained of the ocean was a simple lake. The lake bubbled and Rage burst to the surface. He pulled himself to shore and gasped for breath.

The warrior tiled his head to the side in confusion. The other boy shouldn't have survived. Then he saw the boy's skin or rather what had replaced it. Under his helmet, the warrior smirked. The boy looked like a freak. He still had the bat wings, but now he also had small black scales that covered every inch of his body where there should be skin.

Rage glared up at him and vanished. Instantly he was in front of the warrior and his fist collided with the warrior's mask. As he was falling backwards, the warrior kicked up with his right foot, hitting Rage in the jaw. They both went sprawling through the air.

Rage recovered first, snarling as his wings flapped quietly behind him. The warrior rose and a piece of his mask fractured off. It revealed an unforgiving dark blue eye. He laughed lightly, and began to approach Rage.

"You know what you're problem is? You're too stupid to realize what you're doing is pointless and too angry to accept it. The observer warned you didn't he?" He grinned madly beneath his mask, "It doesn't matter what you conjure up. I'll defeat you. I was born- no made to do this. You weren't."

Rage smirked in response, "You've never fought me before. I'm stronger than Naruto and the observer and I'm willing to bet that I'm stronger than you too."

"Oh really? Tch. You really are arrogant. Guess I'll have to rip your wings off and send you plummeting back into the void."

Red chakra simmered under Rage's right hand and formed a broadsword, "Just try it."

There was a moment of silence. An oppressive tension settled down on the both of them. Heartbeats speed up, eyes narrowed, and each took one step forward. Then lightning flashed and they charged towards each other, blades meeting with a loud _clang._

* * *

_They stand in front of me. Three replicas, three fragments of myself. Right now, they're just bodies without a soul. I look at them. Each one has their unique differences from the other. Each one is an integral part to this crazy plan of mine._

_My mind is in tatters. Exactly the way I need it. I grab at the pieces forming them into three separate entities. Each has their own personality and emotion. One is smart, quiet and prone to contemplation. Another is rash, violent and full of all my anger and murderous intent. And the last…he is everything that is left._

"_One to watch and hide the truth," I murmur and a part of my soul flies into a fragment. The clone glows softly at first, then growing in intensity as a soft heartbeat is heard. His eyes fly open and he takes his first breath. The light fades away and he looks up at me with adoring, innocent eyes like a son would look at a father. I grin back at him like the monster I am._

* * *

The battle continues despite the voice of memories. Each combatant is a flurry of sword slices and swings. There are moments when one lands a hit, but it is quickly returned. Eventually they end up in the same spot. Swords pressing against each other, neither willing to back down.

"You don't really want to kill me," Rage realized, "Otherwise I'd have died when you hit me in the back of the head."

The warrior snorted, "Have you even looked at my weapon? It's not a normal katana. The blade is reversed. It's a sakaboto. It makes it harder to kill people. Otherwise, you would be dead. Haven't you been paying attention to the memories? I need you. He needs you. Naruto needs someone to protect him when he's in trouble."

"What if I don't want to? What if I want to become my own person? Is that really so wrong? He already has everything. A life, memories, an identity and a place in the universe. I want my own name. I want my own life. I'm tired of just being Naruto!"

The warrior just shook his head, "It is wrong. You just don't understand. We were never meant to exist in the first place."

With that, the warrior overwhelmed Rage. The hits were heavier and swifter. Rage did his best to block but ended up getting beaten up like a rag doll. He was losing, pure and simple. They were on two different levels. The warrior was made to fight. Rage…he wasn't. His broadsword was flung away from him with ease. He was wide open and the warrior swung down at his chest. The blade sliced through his scales and into his skin. Black blood splattered. '_Is this how it ends?', _Rage thought dimly.

* * *

_I move on. The memories and the truth of what is going to happen today sink into the fragment I've created. His violet eyes are scared and worried. He wants it to work but he knows the risks. He watches my every move. Like an observer. That's a good name for him._

_I stand in front of another clone. I feel sorry for him already. But I need him. It won't work without him. I grab another part of my soul. The part that's filled with anger, questions, and wordless howls. The part of me that trembles with rage at all the wrongs that have been done to me. I feel wrong, but still I condemn him to existence._

"_One to protect and carry the anger."_

* * *

"No," Rage whispered, but the blade was already descending again.

"No," He repeated louder, and his body began to glow crimson.

"No!" and the sword came down. It cut into his hand as he blocked it. It tore through the scales and rested upon his flesh. Black blood flowed from the wound, staining the sword. The crimson glow grew in intensity. The warrior stared evenly into Rage's scarlet eyes.

"I will not give up. I will not lose to you. I will be my own person. I will make this world of mine a reality!"

His hand closed around the sword. With a roar, he yanked it out of the warrior's hands. As the warrior was pulled forward, Rage's fist smashed into him. The warrior was sent flying backwards where he crashed into the side of a mountain. The warrior groaned as the rocks around him began to crumble, then he fell to the ground. Rage grinned as he watched him collide with the ground and create a huge crater.

The red chakra flared, and Rage made a rising motion with his hand. Nine boulders rose from the ground towards him. Once there they began to circle him like a primitive barrier.

The warrior wearily rose from the crater. His armor was cracked in various places and somewhat dented. His breaths were heavy and ragged. He glared at Rage, and his hand went for his sword. Then he remembered that the boy had stolen it. The warrior growled and then his eyes landed upon the fallen broadsword from before. He grit his teeth with determination, and ran towards it.

Rage narrowed his eyes, he saw through the warrior's plan. With a flick of the hand, he sent two of his boulders rushing towards him.

The warrior looked over his shoulder to see the two giant rocks hurtling at him. He launched into a quick handspring that allowed him to dodge the first one. It smashed into the ground, creating a shockwave that nearly knocked the warrior off his feet. He then turned and pointed one hand at the other incoming boulder. The warrior whispered something and a blade of wind emerged from his hand and destroyed the managed to grab the broadsword before the next assault. Four of the huge boulders came at him in a wave. He destroyed two with his blade of wind technique. Then the warrior jumped into the air and cleaved the third in half. He landed on the fourth, and channeled his own chakra into it.

Now under his control, the stone abruptly changed direction and zoomed back towards Rage. Rage howled and flung two more of the rocks towards him. The warrior merely smashed them apart with the broadsword, his eyes never leaving Rage's.

The ninth and final rock descended upon him like a meteor. The warrior made no move to stop it, merely increased the speed of the stone he was riding upon. At the last second, he jumped off the boulder and used the momentum to charge at Rage. Underneath him, the boulders collided and annihilated each other.

Rage and the warrior rushed towards each other, swords already mid-swing, each yelling a battle cry. They clashed and for a moment, they were equal. A second of equilibrium. Then the scales tipped oh so slightly. With a roar, Rage pressed forward. The warrior could only look in shock as the broadsword he was wielding shattered to pieces. Rage continued and sliced a great diagonal cut across the warrior's armor.

The warrior pressed one hand to his bleeding chest, then aimed one directly at Rage. He intended to use his wind blade but something latched onto his hand. It was a black whip-like tail that Rage had created somehow. Rage smirked and used his new tail to throw the warrior into the ground.

This time Rage dove towards the ground also, katana at the ready. When he crashed, the warrior barely had enough time to feel pain. He opened his eyes in confusion and Rage was already there.

The demonic boy simply thrust the blade forward and it sank through the armor and into the flesh as if it were butter. Rage smirked as blood splattered upon his scales. He'd won.

* * *

_ The new fragment that I call Rage does not open his eyes like the observer did when he was created. I can't trust him with the truth. I walk past him to the final clone. I stand in front of him, thinking. He's the key part. He is the reason I'm doing this. I can't let him down._

"_One to fight and battle madness," I say with a smirk. The observer frowns at me._

"_You know fighting monsters can make you a monster. You're staring into the abyss and you're not looking away," he retorts. Ah, his first words._

"_Only a monster can battle a monster. I will stare into the abyss and destroy it. That is my duty."_

_He shakes his head at me, reminding me of myself. Oh, wait. He is me. I shake my head at him with a smile. Then I grab the last part of my soul._

"_This is everything I have left. Neither good nor evil. Just pieces of pieces that come together to form something. It's yours. Take good care of it, my second chance."_

_I stuff it into him and he blazes with light. It blinds the observer and me. Then I hear it._

_The dark gift rages and tries to take control once more. It projects its killing intent and wordless anger at me. It attempts to suffocate my mind with its heavy presence but I'm no longer standing in front of it. There's a warrior in front of me, standing strong._

_He draws his sword and darts forward. It's like he's dancing as his blade tears through madness and pain. The dark gift screams in agony as its very being is torn. It bristles in fury and begins to fight back._

_Then the dark gift speaks no more._

* * *

"You're like a child, trying to impersonate the master," the warrior murmured, blue eye glinting, "You really have no idea of the power you're wielding right now."

"Shut up!" Rage snarled, twisting the blade deeper. There was a ripping sound, but the warrior didn't even react. He simply stared at Rage with a frown that gradually grew into a malicious smile under his mask. Rage grimaced and was about to pull the sword out when a hand grabbed his wrist.

The warrior held onto the wrist and then squeezed it, fracturing the bones. With a screech, Rage pulled himself away from the warrior, cradling his now broken wrist.

* * *

_I open my eyes and I'm floating in a red void. I've forgotten. I don't know what I've forgotten but I simply know that I did. It was important, but it was also important to forget. It doesn't make any sense._

_Then there's a hand on my shoulder and a warm breath on my ear._

"_Naruto," it whispers, and it's me._

* * *

The world pulsed as the warrior rose. Vapors of black chakra spiraled around him. Rage was frozen as the warrior turned his blue eyes upon him. Those eyes were like an abyss that he was going to be sucked into, but he couldn't look away.

The earth was throbbing now, as something beneath the surface tried to get through. When he finally rose to his feet, the warrior simply opened his mouth and laughed. Rage backed away slowly, suddenly unsure. The howling laughter reverberated throughout the mindscape. It was simply inhuman, for nothing with reason would cackle like that.

Rage continued to back away. There was a strange emotion flowing through him. The laughter continued to assault his ears. Then he knew what it was. He was afraid. Rage was afraid of this strange being before him.

The warrior stopped laughing, but a smile remained on his face. He gripped the sword that was poking out of his chest and pulled it out. He threw it up in the air, lazily watching it spin, and then caught it by the hilt. He turned towards Rage and walked towards him.

For every step the warrior took forward, Rage took one backwards. The warrior stopped and threw his arms up in what seemed like frustration.

"Are you that scared of me little Rage? You were boasting earlier. Then again, you are simply a fragment, a child one at that. You've never experienced this…"

"Get away from me!" Rage screeched, wings flapping. He turned around and ran, gaining speed. Then he took off into the sky.

"You can't escape Rage. This is the power of madness," the warrior ripped off his helmet and mask, "You can't escape yourself."

Rage risked taking a glance back at the warrior. He saw his face for the first time. The warrior was Naruto. Rather an exact copy. Blond hair, blue eyes and whisker marks. The only difference lay in those eyes. They glinted with insanity.

"Impossible," Rage whispered. There was a gust of wind and then the warrior was right there, standing in the air in front of him.

"Nothing is impossible," retorted the warrior, kicking Rage in the face.

* * *

_I tried to turn around to face the other me, but I couldn't. The hand squeezes my shoulder like a warning. I stop and simply listen as it whispers to me._

"_You'll remember bits and pieces. You'll be afraid and ashamed. But you're not alone. There's Rage and the observer now. They'll take care of you. That's why you created them."_

"_And the dark gift?" I ask._

"_It was an illusion. Chakra doesn't have a consciousness. You made that up in your head when you were insane. You were tired of being alone. Having something evil in your head was preferable to loneliness."_

"_But…I killed that man. It was my fault. I betrayed Dad. I'm evil. I'm a monster."_

"_No you didn't. Rage and the observer did it. They killed him for you. You're still innocent. You can still be good."_

"_You're lying. I feel it, the blood on my hands. It was me. I remember that. I can't ever forget that."_

"_Maybe it's a lie and maybe it's not. But it's a good lie. It creates instead of destroying."_

* * *

Rage was thrown back in the air from the kick. He managed to right himself. The warrior was coming after him. Rage flew away, trying to outrun him. The warrior frowned. He stopped and pointed his sword to the skies.

"It's over Rage. I'm tired of playing with you."

The ground rumbled. The warrior then pointed the tip of the sword downwards. He arced his hand back and then swung it forward. He let go of the sword and watched as it hurtled down. It disappeared into the lake Rage had crawled out of earlier. It hit the bottom of the pool with a crack, and then things began to change once more.

The very earth was torn asunder as hundreds upon hundreds of red chakra hands burst from it. They danced and weaved around each other, aiming towards the sky. They all had one target. Rage.

He tried to escape. He did his best to slash and destroy them. There was just too many. They grabbed onto his limbs and yanked him back down to earth. Rage couldn't move, much less fly away. A hand grabbed onto his tail and tore it off. He screeched as he watched the tail sizzle and then turn to ashes in the chakra hand. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right!

They slammed him into the ground. But they didn't stop there. They forced him into a kneeling position and kept him still. Rage heard the soft footsteps. He heard the hissing of the black chakra as it circled around the warrior like a shroud. But he couldn't get away.

The warrior stopped in front of him. Rage kept his head down. He wasn't going to give the warrior the pleasure of seeing his fear.

The warrior placed a hand upon each of his wings. Rage shivered. It felt like ice was being poured into his veins. The warrior gripped the wings tightly.

"This is the punishment for your defiance," he said. Then ripped Rage's wings off.

Pain exploded from his back and Rage screamed. He thrashed and tried to get free from the chakra hands. All for naught. Black blood streamed from his body into the ground.

But the warrior wasn't done yet.

A knife appeared in his hand. A simple knife. One you might find in any kitchen.

The warrior poked the knife in between some of Rage's scales. He found a purchase and began to cut his way under the scales. He cut under them in a wide circle that took up most of Rage's chest. The knife found its way back to the place it started and the scales fell to the ground. Rage stared, finally realizing what the warrior was doing.

"You're skinning me…like I'm some worthless fish."

The warrior didn't reply, simply frowned as more scales grew in the place of the ones he'd cut off. He held the knife, and began again with a silent determination. He cut and cut until scales no longer grew back.

Rage wailed and screeched at him. He cried for forgiveness. He muttered death threats. He screamed and howled like a wild animal. Any sound he made was a distraction. Nothing should have had to suffer like he was right then. The warrior ignored him and his pleas.

Rage shut up. He was past the point of agony. He hung limp in the chakra hands as the warrior cut away at him. His eyes silently sent all his hatred at the warrior as he stared at him.

Then it was done. The knife was dropped and it disappeared. Rage was back in his original form. Not a scratch was visible on his body. But he knew different.

He looked at the indifferent warrior, "What are you?" he demanded.

The warrior stared back at him and then smiled, "I'm a warrior. I'm a liar and I'm a deceiver. I'm a hero and I'm a demon. I'm a savoir.

"But really…I'm just all that's left. Maybe I'm all that ever was..."

* * *

_"A lie is a lie. Even if the truth hurts…it's the best."_

"_You're wrong. You lie to yourself so often. Lies hold your reality together. It's the only way you can be sane."_

"_Why are you trying so hard to deceive me?"_

"_I'm not deceiving you. You are."_

"_That doesn't make any sense!"_

"_It doesn't have to. We're already insane."_

_I shut up. I can't be insane. I can still think rationally can't I? But I hear voices. I created them myself. I killed someone. Still…surely, I can't be insane can I?_

"_Naruto," the voice whispers, caressing my name, "Forget Naruto._

"_Forget the insanity. Forget the dark gift. Forget the man you killed. You need to let go of those things. You've already forgotten so much. This isn't that much more."_

* * *

"Forget Rage. Forget all that you've learned today. Go wallow in your anger and then remember your true duty," ordered the warrior. Rage's eyes began to glaze over as his memories were stolen from him.

* * *

_"Remember Dad. Remember what he told you. Remember Rage and the observer. They'll protect you. Remember your dream. You want to be a hero like Dad. To do that you need to live. You have the power to make your own choices. We've sacrificed so much so that you could live and hopefully find happiness. Don't throw it away._

"_It's time Naruto. It's time for you to wake up."_

* * *

"It's time for you to leave Rage."

The chakra hands pulled Rage into a hole in the ground. Even as his memories were being stolen. Even as he was dragged down into the void, he made one realization. The voice from the memory and the voice of the warrior…they were the same. And that he did not forget.

The warrior stood still. He was now alone. He sighed and made a flicking gesture with his hand. There was a ripple of black chakra and everything went back to normal. The warrior now stood on the beach with the black waves crashing into the shore. It was as if nothing had ever happened.

* * *

_I wake up and something's burning. I blearily open my eyes and catch sight of the dead man lying in front of me. I scream and scramble away from the corpse. I did that. How could I?_

_The apartment is on fire. Flames dance blocking me from the doorway. I can't escape. Maybe I shouldn't. Maybe I should just die for what I've done._

'_**No! Run the hell away idiot! It was a trap. He tried to kill you. When he failed his postmortem trap got set off.'**_

_There's another voice in my head. I recognize it vaguely. Rage?_

'_**Yes Rage! Now listen to me!'**_

_I stand up slowly. I doubt that I'd be able to make it through the flames guarding the door. But there's a window. But I'm on the third floor._

'_Jump through the window and escape Naruto. You'll live,' the observer assures me._

_So that's what I do. I take a running start and then I jump through it. The glass bites into my flesh but I ignore it. I fall through the air and then hit the ground. I'm crying. It hurts a lot. But Rage and the observer are helping me. They tell me what to do and where to run. And I listen._

_Because I can trust them. Because with them I'm not alone right? They're the reason I'm alive._

_They saved me from myself._

* * *

The warrior recreated his mask and helmet. He donned them and sighed. It was peaceful here. He understood why Naruto and Rage loved it so. But this world wasn't for him. His world was a red abyss and a monster was waiting for him. He had to go and fight it. For Naruto.

"You've remembered your reason. You've forgotten the truth of this plan. The ritual is complete. Everything has been balanced. It's time to wake up Naruto."

And in reality, Naruto opened his eyes to the dawn.

* * *

Itachi was surprised when he heard Naruto rustling about in his apartment. It was only six in the morning. The academy was closed that day because it was the anniversary of the Kyuubi attack. There would be a small-scale festival that lasted most of the day. Then the Sandaime would lead a silent vigil for those who had fallen in that battle. But he supposed Naruto wouldn't care about any of that. It was the boy's birthday after all.

He only felt Naruto's chakra signature in the apartment building. Still it would do good to make sure. With that, Itachi let himself in through a window and closed it shut behind him.

He was in the bedroom, which was rather clean for a seven year old. Itachi exited the room, softly closing the door behind him. He found Naruto in his pajamas in the kitchen, slurping up some ramen for breakfast.

"Good morning," Naruto greeted in between bites of ramen. He gave a little half-wave and then concentrated on his breakfast. Itachi nodded in response and checked out the rest of the complex. It was empty like usual. He returned to the kitchen when Naruto had started cleaning up after himself.

Itachi wished he could say that he'd solved the enigma that was Naruto Uzumaki. However, that would be a lie. He'd heard about the boy's confrontation with the Inuzuka. Sasuke had also complained to him about how hard it was to become friends with Naruto.

In his time watching the Uzumaki he'd seen at least two different personalities. One was a normal quiet boy. The other was arrogant defiant and cold. The boy could and would switch mid-sentence between the two. The latter had dealt with Kiba while the former warned Sasuke to stay away from him.

Itachi wondered which the true Naruto was. Was the cold personality just a mask he put on to protect himself? Did Naruto truly have two different identities, one good and one evil? Was one influenced by the Kyuubi? It was possible, from what he'd heard jinchuuriki were unstable.

He knew one thing. It had something to do with that night two years ago. Naruto's secrets were hidden in the flames and only the dead man knew what exactly had happened. Itachi had asked him about it once. The cold side had appeared and told him to 'mind his own goddamn business'.

Itachi wasn't going to listen. He'd already decided to take on this mystery when he'd met the boy. Revealing the truth would help Naruto. So he would, then he would tell the Hokage everything.

"Everything safe?" Naruto asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"Yes, nothing out of the ordinary," he replied. Naruto rubbed at his eyes and mumbled 'good'. He seemed at peace today and he was exhibiting the quiet personality. That personality was vulnerable. There was a chance that he'd say something. Itachi made a decision.

As Naruto sidled past him to return to his room, Itachi said, "Happy birthday Naruto."

The jinchuuriki froze and slowly turned back around to face the Uchiha. His eyes furtively scanned the older boy. Seeming to find nothing out of place, he relaxed and smiled.

"Thanks Itachi."

"Would you like to go to the festival with Sasuke and me to celebrate?"

Naruto shook his head softly, "I can't…there are things I have to do today. I just…I just can't Itachi. Maybe when I'm done. I don't know. People wouldn't like it if you hung out with me."

"I don't care what they think Naruto. It's your birthday. You deserve to have a little fun."

"Fun?" Naruto smiled wistfully, "Ok…sure we can do that. But I have things to do right now. And I'd like to be alone. Just stalk me from the rooftops or whatever."

Itachi nodded his assent and Naruto went into his room and got dressed. He smiled, and left the apartment. However, he was a little confused as to what one would want to do at six in the morning.

An image of a man in tight green spandex appeared in his mind. Itachi shuddered. Yes, Might Guy would be out training right now. Sure, the man was a capable ninja, but…he was just so strange. Itachi had met the man once, just once. He wanted to forget that memory.

Naruto came outside and thankfully brought his attention back to the present. The blond looked at the rising sun and smiled slightly. Then he took off running down the street.

That was another thing about Naruto he'd learned. He ran everywhere. It didn't matter how far away it was, the boy ran to it. It's not as if Itachi couldn't keep up with him. Naruto didn't have any training at all, and Itachi was quite fast himself. But when Naruto learned how to channel chakra into his feet…that would be a different story.

The jinchuuriki slowed and came to a stop outside the Yamanaka flower shop. He hesitated, then pushed the door open and went inside. Itachi raised an eyebrow. Naruto got up at six in the morning to buy flowers? Sure enough a couple minutes later the boy emerged from the shop clutching something to his chest.

It was a single sunflower. Naruto held it close to him, as if protecting it from the world. He looked around furtively, then began to run again. Itachi formed a shadow clone and then went to follow Naruto.

The shadow clone jumped from the rooftop and landed in front of the shop. A bell jingled as he pushed the door open and walked inside. Various flowers and plants were littered around. Inoichi Yamanaka leaned against the countertop, reading an infamous copy of Icha Icha Paradise. Noticing he had company, Inoichi hastily put it away.

"Hey Itachi! I didn't expect to see you here. Who's the lucky girl?" he chuckled, "Must be a special one for you to have gotten up this early."

"I'm not here to buy flowers," the clone replied stoically, "I need some information about the boy who just came in here."

Inoichi quirked an eyebrow in surprise, "Naruto? What do you want to know about him?"

"I'm his body guard for the moment. But I've noticed that there was something wrong with him."

"And you decided to get involved?" Itachi nodded and Inoichi sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Naruto…he's a decent boy. Quiet and polite. He first showed up here three years ago. He walked in here and asked to buy one flower, a chrysanthemum I believe, "He paused and frowned, "I was still angry back then. I'd lost many friends when the fox attacked. So I told him to leave."

"He made you change your mind didn't he? How?"

"Well he looked up at me with tears in his eyes and said 'Please, I've got the money. I know you don't want to sell it to me, but I really need it.' I asked him why and he replied 'It's for my dad.'"

The clone's eyes widened, "Those were his exact words?"

"Yeah. I sold him that flower. Ever since he's come every once and a while to buy a flower early in the morning. Never the same one. Then he runs away and doesn't show up for a while."

"Does he ever talk about his dad with you? It almost sounds like he was alive."

Inoichi shook his head, "No. After that fist conversation, he barely spoke to me at all. He just says 'thank you' and runs out the door like this morning."

Interesting. Was it possible that Naruto knew who his father was? He'd found another piece to the puzzle.

"Thank you Yamanaka-san. Your information has been very helpful," the clone turned to leave the shop when a hand landed on his shoulder.

"Itachi," Inoichi looked at him with a worried look, "I've heard that you're going through your own share of problems. Are you sure you're not just using Naruto as an excuse to distract yourself?"

The clone stiffened and then shrugged off the Yamanaka's hand. He was wrong. Itachi was doing it for Naruto. Naruto was alone. Naruto had nobody to look out for him. He did, he had an entire clan. Too bad, they were the source of his problems.

"I'm fine. Goodbye."

Inoichi watched with a frown as Itachi left the shop. He sighed and picked up his book. That was the bad thing about children being ninjas. They just grew up so damn fast. Still they were luckier than most. They had been born in a time of peace. He had known too many people that died. Everyone from his generation did. He shuddered at the thought of another war. The possibility of it was the reason the village cultivated geniuses like Itachi and wielded tools like Naruto. Because in war it didn't matter if what you did was right. All that mattered was that you win.

* * *

Naruto jogged past the civilian district and made his way to the training grounds. There weren't many people out. That was a big part of the reason he got up so early. However, he kept the sunflower close in case someone decided to pop out and 'accidentally' bump into him.

He turned onto a small trail that led into an old training ground. Naruto glanced around, nobody was there. He let out a breath that he didn't know he'd been holding. He walked slowly toward a big stone that was in the middle of the area.

It was a memorial for the ninjas who'd been killed in action. His dad's name was on it. Naruto passed over the small kanji letters with his fingertips. Minato Namikaze. Apprentice to one of the legendary Sannin, the fearsome Yellow Flash of the third great ninja war and the Fourth Hokage.

There was an official grave for him. It was in a special graveyard reserved for the past Hokages. But on this day, there would be many people there. If they saw him of all people show up…Naruto shuddered. They would consider it an insult to his dad.

Something wet fell on his hand. He looked up, it wasn't raining. Another water drop fell. Naruto put a hand to his face. He was crying and he hadn't even known it. Along with the tears came the ache at the back of his throat. It was his birthday, but it was also the day his dad died.

He wiped away the tears with his arm. He had to be strong. His dad wouldn't want to see him crying like a baby. Naruto took a deep breath and then exhaled. He placed the sunflower by the stone and then sat down. He closed his eyes and clasped his hands together in prayer.

"Hey Dad. It's been a while. I turned eight today. I'm not that much taller though. Probably because I eat so much junk food," Naruto whispered to the empty air, smiling.

"But I'm getting faster. Maybe one day soon I'll be able to vanish with a flash like you," he laughed, "They'll say 'It's the second coming of the Yellow Flash! Run away!' At least I hope so. I want to be a great ninja like you Dad. I'm trying my best and I study, but sometimes I just don't get it.

"But it's ok. Dad…I had this dream a while ago. It was crazy. I was standing on this beach right? Only I wasn't alone. There were other kids like me. We played together and called each other family. I was so happy. I think I know one of those kids. His name's Sasuke. He's kind of nice.

"I know you told me not to trust anyone. I've been doing my best to listen to your warnings. But…I think I can trust him. He wants to be my friend. I want to be his friend too. It's not like he can hurt me Dad. He's just a kid. His brother though…Itachi. He could hurt me because he's smart. Itachi could figure out the truth if I'm not careful. But he said he cares about me. He treated me like a person even though he thinks I have the Kyuubi inside me. Itachi said he could be my friend too. I think he wants to use his power to protect me. I don't why but I think I can trust him too.

"There's another kid I recognized from the dream. He's like me. Exactly like me. He has the dark gift Dad. My brother, Gaara. At least that's what he calls me," he giggled, "It's always 'little brother' this or 'little brother' that. He teaches me things. He shows me the way he sees the world and I show him my way. Even though he kills people, even though he claims to be a monster…I trust him most of all. Gaara understands and he's accepted me.

"That's all I want Dad. A family, friends, someone that I can call precious. Oji-san is wrong about a lot of things, but he was right when he said protecting those important to you makes you strong. That's what made you so strong right Dad? To you everyone in this village was important. That's what made you a hero," he heard a soft rustle in the bushes. It wasn't Itachi. Regardless, he continued on, talking in an even softer voice.

"I think I've found those people Dad. I'm going to keep training and get stronger. I'm going to protect them. I probably won't be Hokage, but I'll be a famous ninja. I just hope that you're watching me from somewhere and that…you'll be proud of me."

Naruto opened his eyes and let his hands fall down to his lap. He wanted to say more. He wanted to tell his dad about the world he'd created, but there was people listening. Itachi was there, somewhere, watching over him. There was another presence, behind him, who'd silently listened. He stood up and turned to face whoever it was.

It was a tall man. He was dressed in basic ninja clothes. He had a mask and his leaf headband was tilted to the side and covered up his left eye. The man had spiky silver hair that stuck up in a way that reminded Naruto of a broom.

"I think you dad would be proud of you. That's what dads are there for. To believe in their kids," the man said, walking forward to stand beside Naruto in front of the memorial stone, "Ah, sorry if I interrupted you."

Naruto shrugged, "It's ok. Do you really think he'd be proud though?…I've disobeyed him a couple of times."

"Fathers are tricky. Sometimes they give you rules just to see if you're man enough to break them. You have to look underneath the underneath. Your dad would probably be proud of you because you're making your own choices."

"I hope so," the jinchuuriki wiped at his eyes, "I miss him. It's been a long time since he died, but I still miss him."

The masked man patted the boy on the shoulder, "That's natural. I miss my father too. It's not bad too miss him. Just don't linger over him. You can't bring him back."

"I know…I know."

"Why don't you go enjoy the festival? This place is gloomy. I'm sure playing a few games and watching the fireworks go off will brighten up your day."

"I am, I'm going to the festival with…with my friends," Naruto looked up at the man, "Thanks."

"No problem, it was nice meeting you," the masked man held out a hand towards him, "My name's Kakashi."

The boy took the hand and shook it, "Naruto."

They parted ways. Kakashi stood by the stone while Naruto walked away.

If there was one thing Naruto knew, it was that everyone had their own way of looking at the world. People lived life according to their own personal truth. But that's where it got confusing. Which one was supposed to be the real truth? Which was the right way to look at the world? He didn't know.

He had created his own world and bound it by his own truths. It was made of his dreams, hopes and desires. He controlled it, and could create anything. Nothing was impossible.

Naruto had this world of unlimited possibilities. He had the beginning of a family. But he didn't have his dad. It was funny in a way. He could make a dancing star or recreate a beach from a distant dream, but like Kakashi said, he couldn't bring his dad back.

Why not?

Naruto froze as the thought seized him. The outside world ceased to matter. His thoughts were already racing ahead before he could comprehend them. He was crossing some invisible line. But he didn't care because he saw something amazing past it.

Indeed, why not?

There was no reason he couldn't. No limitations stood in his way. Nothing was impossible. His dad, he'd be able to see him again. He'd created Rage and the observer from himself. Surely, it couldn't be that hard to bring his father back from those brief memories he had of him.

Before he'd even made a concrete decision, his feet started moving faster and faster until it felt like he was flying across the ground. And Naruto was smiling, a wide happy sincere grin. The sun was shining as he raced through the streets. Everything was going to be ok. Everything was going to be made right.

His dad was coming back home.

* * *

"Sasuke? Wake up Sasuke. It's morning."

Sasuke turned over in his sleep, doing his best to ignore the annoying voice. It was too early to get up. He muttered something like 'five more minutes' and then tried to go back to sleep.

"Are you ignoring me Sasuke? That's weird. You always want to go shuriken training or play hide and seek with me. Guess I'll just go with Shisui to the festival…"

"What? Itachi!" the younger Uchiha exclaimed, jumping at his older brother. Itachi laughed as Sasuke gave him a bear hug.

"Careful. I'm just a clone. Too much damage and I'll dispel."

Sasuke pouted, "Just a clone? Man…I thought you had finally come back home. You're still guarding that Uzumaki kid?"

The Itachi clone patted his younger brother's head, "Yeah, but the real me will see you later today. It's Naruto's birthday. He said he wanted to spend it with us."

"…oh," Sasuke let go of his brother and sat down on his bed with a frown.

"What's wrong Sasuke?"

The younger boy looked down, "I guess I'm just tired of trying to understand Naruto lately. He can't make up his mind on whether or not we're friends. Half the time he's telling me to go away. The other half he's says that it's dangerous to be near him and that I don't understand anything. But he's wrong Itachi. He's like Uncle Nakamura."

"Obito's father?"

"Yeah. He's keeps pushing people away with his anger. But really, he doesn't want them to see how he's hurting. That's what Naruto's doing."

"That's why I'm trying to help him Sasuke. He doesn't have a family like us."

Sasuke curled his hands into fists, "I know that Itachi! I'm not stupid. It's just…I don't care. Ever since he showed up…it's like he's becoming your little brother instead of me."

There, he'd said it. The feelings that had been bottled up came rushing forth. He waited for Itachi to say something, anything. To call him stupid, petty or selfish. But Itachi was his brother. Not Naruto's.

Still there was silence. A couple more seconds passed then Itachi reached out with his hand and jabbed Sasuke in the forehead.

"Little brother, you want to go throw some shuriken?" he asked. Sasuke rubbed his head in shock before exclaiming 'Yeah!'. The younger boy jumped off his bed and grabbed his weapon set. The Uchiha brothers then left the house and headed for their favorite training spot.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke looked up at his brother. There was a look of guilt on his face.

"What Itachi?"

"I'm sorry."

Sasuke wanted to reach up and poke Itachi in the head, but he was too short. He settled for punching him in the arm.

"It's ok Nii-san. I understand."

* * *

Naruto found the perfect spot to hide. He sat under the tree outside the academy. No one would be there for the entire day. Even if someone walked up and saw him, they'd just think he was taking a nap. He smiled and made himself comfortable. It was time to begin. Naruto closed his eyes and entered his mindscape.

It was the same as always. A beach with a black ocean. There was only one difference. Naruto gazed at the half-moon that hung in the sky. It was strange that he held no control over it. Not even Rage could remove it and he was the one who put it there. Naruto looked away. There was a more important matter at hand.

He called upon the dark gift. It filled his body with its unnatural power. Naruto hid it this time. He didn't want a repeat of what had happened the first time he'd used it to create.

He reached for his memories of his father. There wasn't many, but there was enough. That blond hair, blue eyes, and his wide grin. Happy memories, of his dad and mom laughing together and talking to him even though he wasn't born yet. A memory of his dad fighting off Madara Uchiha and the fox. Another memory, of his dad crying when his mom had died. All of his dad's good points and his faults were there in the memories.

Naruto grabbed onto that information like it was a tangible thing. He felt the dark gift rushing through his veins. He was ready to create. The chakra was in his hands. The image was in his head. He was about to do it. He was about to recreate his father.

Then he felt his dad's chakra.

He hadn't ever sensed it before, but it was there in some sort of sleeping state. It took everything Naruto had in him to stop himself from crying.

_Dad's been here the entire time. He sealed a bit of himself in me. How could I have been so stupid? I should've noticed. I should've done something!_

But he was doing something now. Instead of using his chakra to create a new version of his dad, he added his chakra to that of his dad's. It was simple. Then it was done. He couldn't give anymore chakra for risk of being discovered.

But it was enough. He couldn't see what exactly was happening, but he sensed it though the chakra. His dad was waking up. The influx of new chakra had worked.

Then he saw him. He saw him! A blond head popped out of the water in the ocean. It got closer and closer until he could see the outline of a man swimming for shore. Naruto walked slowly towards him. His dad was now standing on the beach looking at everything in wonder.

"Dad."

Now he was running.

"Dad!"

The man turned to face him.

"DAD!"

He launched himself at his dad. He pulled him into a hug while tears ran down his face. He felt a gentle, warm hand pat his head.

"Naruto."

* * *

Minato hadn't expected to see his son at all. But here he was, sobbing into Minato's chest. He was still just a boy. Not a monster corrupted with the fox's chakra. That's why none of this made sense. The seal was only supposed to wake him up when Naruto had gone out of control somehow.

That wasn't the only strange thing. The mindscape was vastly different from Kushina's. Perhaps the absence of the Kyuubi had something to do with it. Still, this beach reminded him eerily of one he'd seen in Whirlpool. It might even be an exact replica.

"Dad, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I disobeyed you. I used the dark gift to bring you back. I used it to create this place. And I'm trusting people even though you told me not to. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. I was lonely. I've always been lonely."

"Naruto it's ok," his eyebrows furrowed, "Wait what do you mean you disobeyed me? I never gave you any rules to follow."

Naruto wiped the tears away from his eyes, "Yeah you did. I remember it like it was yesterday. You said 'Trust no one. Don't let anyone know the truth about you. Above all don't use that power.' No one knows the truth about the Kyuubi besides you and me but I've broken the other two."

Minato vaguely remembered something coming over him in those last moments before he'd died. His eyes narrowed. That goddamn fox had used him to negatively influence his son. Why? Who knows probably just out of spite.

"How can you even remember that Naruto? You were just a baby."

"I don't know. Maybe it's because of the dark gift. But I remember everything that happened that night. You fought Madara and the fox. You saved Mom, the entire village, and me. Then…you died. You left me behind," he accused. The boy was crying again. Minato knelt down and gave him the biggest hug he could.

"No Naruto. I'm here now. I've always been with you in a way. I never wanted you to be alone. Those things you think I said, I never said them. The Kyuubi did. He wanted to hurt you. But I won't let him."

"...Really? You're not mad at me? You're not going to punish me?"

"Of course not. You haven't done anything wrong. You've done your best Naruto," he smiled, "I'm proud of you."

Slowly Naruto began to smile back. Minato grinned as Naruto began to gush forth the story of his life. He told him all about his mindscape, his dream, and the few friends he'd made.

It was nice. Sitting on the beach and listening to his son. It felt right, them being together. But all good things end.

Naruto stopped mid-sentence and frowned, "I've got to go Dad. Somebody's trying to wake me up. You won't leave will you? Please don't leave!"

"Don't worry Naruto. I'm not going anywhere. I have a lot of chakra left thanks to you. Go see whoever it is. It's probably those brothers you were telling me about."

"Yeah, Itachi and Sasuke, I'll be back soon Dad," then he vanished.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes and saw Sasuke repeatedly poking him with a stick. He pushed the stick away with a small growl.

"Oh you're awake. Hey Nii-san, he's not dead!" Sasuke frowned at him, "Why are you napping here of all places? No one likes school that much to show up when it's closed."

The jinchuuriki yawned and rose to his feet, "I was just tired, and this place was pretty empty."

"That's pretty weird Uzumaki," his face suddenly got serious, "Naruto, we're friends. I don't care how much you deny it or try to push me away. So don't get all angry like you did with Kiba. You owe me. You stole my tomato. Therefore you've got to be my friend."

The Uchiha glared at him daring him to say otherwise, "OK. We're friends Sasuke."

"What? That really worked? I mean- Yeah that's what I thought Naruto," he looked away embarrassed, "Happy birthday. Itachi's got your present."

At the sound of his name, the elder Uchiha jumped from wherever he was hiding to land softly by the two boys. He held a wrapped box, which he offered to Naruto. The blond took it and opened it carefully.

"Wow," he said. It was a cloak like the one his dad wore. It was his size and instead of being white and red, it was orange and black. He turned it over. On the back were the words 'future Hokage'. Naruto put it on immediately. It was like it was made for him.

"Thanks guys, it's awesome."

"You're welcome Naruto. Sasuke picked it out for you. They've got a stand full of them over there."

The younger Uchiha chose that time to shout, "Come on let's go already. If we wait around here the festival will be over."

Naruto grinned, "Let's go," and they ran off towards the colorful stands, with Itachi following behind.

It was the best day of Naruto's life. They played lots of games and joked around. Sasuke and him raced everywhere when the Uchiha had seen how fast he was. He didn't always win but that was ok. He was happy.

When night fell the three went to eat at Ichiraku. He'd finished his second bowl of ramen when old man Teuchi brought out a cake. Eight tiny flames danced on the candles and written messily on the cake was 'Happy 8th birthday Naruto.' Itachi told him to make a wish and blow the candles out. So he did.

_I wish for my dreams to become a reality. Just like this moment._


	5. Infection

**Truth is beautiful, without doubt, but so are lies. - Ralph Waldo Emerson**

**Brief AN:Last chapter ended the 'Reality' arc. This starts the 'Dreams' arc.**

* * *

"_Iruka-sensei._"

Iruka opened his eyes when he heard the voice call out to him. He was in his bedroom and it was early morning. But that didn't mean it wasn't a nightmare. He now knew that all too well.

"_Iruka-sensei._"

The boy was calling him. The demon was calling him. He wanted to cover his ears and drown out the noise but he knew it was useless. He couldn't ignore the call. The call that tore him from his dreams and threw him into this twisted nightmare game.

"Kai," Iruka whispered hoarsely, "Kai. Kai. Kai! KAI!"

All in vain. He knew he could not break the illusion. He knew he was trapped for however long Naruto kept the genjutsu up. There was no escape. No hope.

"Iruka-sensei!" the voice wailed. The bed disappeared from beneath Iruka and the chuunin fell with a crash to the floor. The room began to dim as the light vanished. Iruka managed to get to his feet when he heard it. The voice began to mockingly sing.

"_Little boy, little boy, all alone in the world. Little boy, little boy, who hates me so. Little boy, little boy, I've stolen your parents. They're never coming back; oh they're never coming back._"

With knees trembling, Iruka began to run. It didn't matter that he could barely see. It didn't matter that none of this was real. His brain believed it was, so it filled him full of adrenaline. Fighting wasn't an option. So he ran. So he ran from a seven year old boy.

"_Run away, run away, perhaps to live another day. Run away, run away, my stubborn little prey. Run away, run away, you know there's no escape. You're never getting out; oh you're never getting out._"

Even though he was breathing hard, even though the sound of his running echoed all around him, Iruka still heard it. Soft footsteps were coming towards him. No matter how fast he went, they were still there, relentlessly following his every move. Not questioning how his house had turned into a dark labyrinth, Iruka did his best to throw off his pursuer.

"_Are you scared, are you scared? I'm the predator on the prowl. Are you scared, are you scared? Answer me now. Are you scared, are you scared? Now you're going to learn true fear. I'm going to teach you; oh I'm going to teach you._"

Iruka stumbled, but reached out with his hand to grab the wall beside him, preventing his fall. The surface was rugged and slightly moist. He shuddered as the metallic scent entered his nostrils. Blood. He pulled his hand away from the wall, as the red liquid dripped down. Blood was a common occurrence in these nightmares.

"_Poor you, poor you, you can't tell anyone. Poor you, poor you, you want to die. Poor you, poor you, too bad no one can hear your cries. They'll never find out, oh they'll never find out._"

Then Iruka made a mistake. He should've known. He really should've known. But something tugged at him, urged him to turn around and look back the way he came. So he turned…and faced the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

The fox was mere feet away from him, his body vastly dwarfing Iruka's. His giant red eyes seemed to sparkle with delight and malice. Nine tails danced chaotically in the background, malevolent chakra spiraling around them. The Kyuubi opened his mouth and let his warm breath wash over Iruka. The man winced as the smell of rotting meat and carrion blew by him. The fox chuckled at his expression, his dagger like teeth glinting in the darkness.

So this was the demon that haunted his dreams. Tears came to Iruka's eyes as he remembered that forsaken night the fox had attacked. His father yelling at him to get away from the battlefield. His mother getting sliced apart like so many others. So much blood, oh so much blood.

Poor Naruto having to live with this beast inside him. The Kyuubi had to have broken the seal and taken control of the boy's body. There was no way Naruto himself could be doing this. Iruka knew those innocent blue eyes. They were nothing like the red ones from these nightmares.

"_Don't you know, don't you know? You ain't got anything to fear from ghosts. Don't you know, don't you know? The Kyuubi died long ago. Don't you know, don't you know? I'm a much worse foe. I am the enemy, oh I am the enemy._"

From the wall of blackness behind the Kyuubi, a giant hand emerged. The fox didn't seem to notice. He merely continued grinning at Iruka while danger lurked behind him. Fingers spread out and surrounded the Kyuubi, digging into the earth and trapping him. Iruka merely backed away in horror as the hand cupped the fox in its palm.

Despair filled Kyuubi's eyes and he looked at Iruka as if begging the man to save him. Tails lashed out violently and the fox opened its maw and bit down on one of the fingers. The hand merely squeezed tighter, destroying any chance of escape. Kyuubi gave one last pitiful roar.

"_Little fox, little fox, you think you're so smart. Little fox, little fox, you're so proud. Little fox, little fox, I am the superior. You don't know anything at all. Oh you don't know anything at all._"

With that the hand clenched, crushing the Kyuubi.

CRUNCH! Bones splintered and cracked. Blood splattered everywhere. Some sprayed onto Iruka and he winced as the hot liquid burned his skin. The hand opened back up and revealed the broken carcass of the fox. With a flick of the wrist, it threw the body to the side like a piece of trash.

Just like that, the Kyuubi was dead.

It made Iruka want to laugh. What an odd sentence. What an odd thought. It was simply a nonsensical trick. Clearly the demon wanted him to believe it was dead. Why? He didn't know. He never once considered that Naruto himself would want to do him harm.

"_Come here, come here. I want to rip your flesh. Come here, come here. Let me bath in your blood. Come here, come here. I'm gonna twist your neck until it cracks! What a wonderful crack! Oh what a wonderful crack!_"

The voice stopped singing and it became quiet. The hand shrunk down to normal size, and its owner stepped out of the darkness.

"I've found you Iruka-sensei," the boy said, wiping his bloodied hand on his pants. He grinned, exposing small sharp fangs. His eyes glowed red like twin beacons of light. Naruto appeared older than usual, perhaps twelve or thirteen.

Iruka grimaced; the worst was yet to come. He reached into his weapons pouch, searching for something, anything that would help. His hand closed around a kunai. That would do. That would do just fine.

Before Naruto moved from his spot, Iruka lunged at him. The boy merely smirked and watched calmly as the chuunin came hurtling towards him. For the brief second that he hung in the air, Iruka stared into those red eyes. They were cruel, laced with strands of curiosity at Iruka's sudden charge. As he gazed even deeper, he saw unspeakable power along with a barely contained animosity towards everything. This boy, this demon…he would have no regrets. No mercy. And that…is what sent Iruka into a frenzy.

He landed roughly on the Uzumaki, pinning him to the ground. Anger rushed through him and he gripped the cold steel. Determined, Iruka brought the kunai down, plunging it into Naruto's chest. The blade slid through, avoiding bone and implanting itself inside a lung.

There was no scream of agony. No howls or roars. No recognition of the pain at all. Naruto merely cocked his head to the side in a questioning manner as if asking, 'Is that all?'

With a snarl, Iruka wrenched the kunai free. He never hated anything or anyone else more than he hated Naruto in that moment. His hand moved before he could think. It stabbed Naruto over and over with the kunai. There was no finesse like the first strike had. It was a simple act of violence by a madman.

He nicked bone. He tore through muscles. He exposed intestines. He ruthlessly sliced open the throat. Over and over, the blade descended. Over and over, he saw those red eyes mocking him. Over and over, blood sprayed into his face like it was marking him for a sin. He could not stop. Even though everything that was rational and right was screaming at him to stop, he could not. Iruka would not dropped onto Naruto's face. While his arm continued the attack, he stared at the drops in confusion. Then Iruka realized he was crying. He shouldn't be doing this. He was a teacher. He loved children. Yet here he was, viciously hacking away at a seven year old. It pained his soul.

Iruka dimly realized that his arms were hanging limply at his sides. He had exhausted himself enough to stop the frenetic assault. All that was left was silence. Somehow that was worse than any howl of pain. Because in that silence he felt his own thoughts accusing him, condemning him for his crazy stunt. And in that silence he realized he could never take it back, illusion or not. It was enough to break him.

"Goddamn you….damn you," Iruka cursed, "What did I ever do to you? What have I done? You're making me lose my mind!"

Naruto didn't respond. He didn't even look like he was uncomfortable, despite his chest cavity being ripped open and the fact that he was lying in a pool of his own blood. His crimson eyes merely met Iruka's and he gave the man a satisfied smirk.

It was those eyes. Those damn unnerving eyes that stared into his soul. Anger gave him enough energy for one more strike. A strike that would get rid of those eyes forever. The cool feel of the kunai reassured him and he brought it up and then arced it downwards.

"Why have you done this to me? Why are you doing this?" he shouted as the blade came hurtling down, "Why the nightmares? Why the pain? Why the madness? WHY?"

"Because I can."

The boy's hand shot forward in a flash, grabbing the blade. It cut into him, but he just squeezed it harder, never letting go of it. Iruka pressed down, desperately trying to gouge out those horrible crimson eyes. Naruto stayed strong despite Iruka's efforts. Suddenly with a grin, he turned to ash.

Iruka was left kneeling, numb, over a pile of ashes and blood. He let the kunai fall out of his hand. It fell with a clatter to the ground. Had he done it? Had he killed the demon? Could it finally be over? A sickening sense of foreboding grabbed Iruka. For the second time that night, he turned around when he knew he shouldn't have.

Clap, clap, clap. There he stood. Uzumaki Naruto or rather, the Kyuubi no Kitsune. The boy was smirking as he applauded softly.

"Good job Iruka-sensei! You've learned anger. I knew you could do it!" he grinned at the chuunin, "I knew I could make you hate me. I knew that you really weren't that pathetic. I'll say that you've even exceeded my expectations."

Naruto approached the trembling man with a catlike grace, "That bloodlust, that rage and urge to kill. There's nothing in the world like it. No power can stand against it. Right Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka wanted to move. He needed to move. He did not want to stay still as this abomination walked towards him. But no matter how hard he tried, his body wouldn't move. He was stuck, at the mercy of the demon that held him there.

"But anger isn't everything. Oh no, definitely not everything. That's why your lessons aren't over. There's so little time. You have so very much to learn."

Naruto now stood in front of the kneeling Iruka. He reached out and grabbed Iruka by the jaw. Naruto tilted the man's face upward so that Iruka was forced to look him in the eye.

"You want to kill me don't you?"

The question hung in the air. They both knew the answer. There was no need for Iruka to even dignify it with a response.

"You want to kill me huh? You want to destroy me. You wish you hadn't even heard my name. You wish I had never even existed. You can't even control the anger you're feeling right now. Let me tell you something," Naruto paused to smile viciously, "That's nothing compared to what I feel towards you and the rest of the scum of Konoha."

He shoved Iruka away from him roughly. Iruka landed with a splash in the puddle of blood. Above him the boy scowled. Naruto's form began to flicker then started to fade out. The nightmare was nearly over.

"Don't forget Iruka-sensei. You can't tell anyone about this. The second you open your mouth to tell anyone, you're gonna bite down on your tongue and bleed to death. Don't try to write a message either. You'll briefly forget how to write," Naruto reminded him, "Not to even mention the punishment you'll get from me. And you don't want to be punished, right Iruka-sensei?"

"No."

Naruto turned from him and began walking into the darkness, "One more thing. My name's not Naruto. It's Rage."

And with that, he vanished and left the broken man to wonder where it all went wrong.

* * *

Rage frowned as he made his way back to Naruto's mindscape. Earlier he had woken up in the red abyss. The second he opened his eyes, he was gripped by a fury that sent tremors throughout his body. There were no questions as to why he was angry. There was simply a need to rip flesh, crush bones and utterly annihilate whatever was closest. As a result of habit, Rage had found himself traveling to Iruka's dreams and creating a genjutsu.

Torturing Iruka had calmed him down, but he felt like he was missing something. He searched his memories but he could remember was a period of darkness and a voice. It mocked him and his uncontrollable anger. Naruto. It's was Naruto's voice. It had to be.

It made no sense. But he knew it was true. Naruto's voice from back before Rage and the observer had even existed and the voice that plagued his memories now. They were the same. And what that meant…he had no idea.

Rage, the observer, and Naruto himself. They were all just pieces of the whole. But Naruto himself was the original, the creator and therefore in charge. But this voice…it wasn't any of them. It was Naruto's voice from back before everything had happened. And now it had come back somehow. Or had there really been four of them the entire time?

Rage didn't know. All he knew was that only one person would be able to tell him whether he was right or wrong. The observer would know. He would know because it was his job to know.

Lost in his thoughts, Rage carelessly passed through a patrolling ninja. Immediately thoughts that weren't his filled his mind. 'Long mission. Itch between my shoulders. Hungry.' For a moment Rage's image overlapped the ninja's. In that moment Rage could have trapped the man in a genjutsu. Or he could have crushed his mind.

The idea tempted him. Rage spread his chakra fingers, ready to trap and rip apart the man's mind. Closer and closer they came-'What the?'- before he forcibly removed himself from the ninja's body.

"You ok Kotetsu?" another ninja asked.

Kotetsu nodded, rubbing his head briefly, "Yeah, just felt something weird."

Rage scowled as he moved away from the pair of ninjas. That was one weakness of this type of genjutsu. Rage was essentially a miasma of chakra that could be sucked into any wandering person. If he wasn't careful he could get trapped. That would be hell. Lost inside a mind that wasn't his until their death.

Concentrating, Rage made his way quickly to Naruto's apartment. He walked through walls, ran up the stairs, and made his way to Naruto's bedside. The blond was asleep as he'd been when Rage had left.

For a moment, Rage just watched as Naruto breathed. His skin was paler than usual, and sweat trickled down his brow. He tossed and turned in the bed. His eyes moved rapidly beneath the lids. Just another nightmare, Rage assumed.

All of a sudden, Naruto shot up and focused his terrified blue eyes on Rage. Rage flinched and took a step back. Naruto was the only one who could see him in this form. It was unnerving to go from being invisible to being examined under a spotlight.

Naruto's expression flickered between worry and shock and finally decided on acceptance, "Rage…you're back."

He sounded so sincere, like he'd actually been worried about Rage. Rage grimaced in disgust.

"Course I'm back. You can't do anything without me can you? Weakling."

Naruto ignored his insult and held out his hand. Without hesitation Rage grabbed it. Instantly the chakra lost form and Rage was sucked up back into Naruto. The boy's eyes glowed crimson before reverting back to blue. As he retreated into his mindscape, the eyes became glazed and his body slumped back into the bed.

* * *

Rage opened his eyes. He stood at the foot of a cliff, overlooking the beach. The moon illuminated the mindscape. Rage noticed it was nearly a full moon. Behind him, came the plodding footsteps of the observer as he came to stand beside Rage. He glanced at the other boy out of the corner of his eyes. The observer merely met his stare then looked away, towards the ocean.

"What did you do?" the observer asked, still not looking at him.

Rage quirked an eyebrow, "Asking a question? Very unlike you. I thought you knew everything."

"Tell me what you did," the observer insisted. Rage shrugged and a feral smile crept onto his face. Not having the all the answers seemed to irk the observer. It wasn't like he had a clue of what he had done in that period of blackness anyway.

"I'll tell you, if you tell me something. An eye for an eye. Sound like a good deal to you?"

The observer thought it over before nodding his assent, "If you lie, I'll know. So tell me, what happened to you four days ago? I left you here on our birthday. You disappeared."

"I don't know," he smiled as he gave his worthless answer, "It's just blank. I remember someone's voice is all."

But apparently it wasn't worthless, because the observer scowled and tightened his hands into fists, "Of course. I'm not even surprised. It wouldn't do for anyone dangerous like you to know the truth. It's just his way of hiding it. Stupid!"

"What are you talking about? Who are you talking about?" Rage glowered at the younger boy, "You know don't you? You know who that voice was. Tell me!"

Ignoring him, the observer backed up then took a running leap off of the cliff. Rage looked over what had to be a 150 foot drop at the disappearing form. He watched as the other boy managed to land nimbly on the ground, hardly making a sound. The observer then paused to look up at him as if saying 'Are you coming?'

Rage snarled, but quieted as he looked over the drop. It was a long way down. It was clearly a challenge. Could he jump as the observer did and not create anything to make sure he'd survive? That was the question. It wasn't real, but the idea of jumping off of a cliff did not appeal to him. He wasn't sure he could 'die' since he wasn't technically alive but he could sure as hell cease to exist. But if he didn't jump, then the observer would probably never answer his questions. So were the answers worth the risk?

_'Are you that scared of me, little Rage?_' the voice from memory mocked. Determination flowed through him. Yes, Rage would take the risk. The answers he sought were worth it. He turned away from the cliff and walked away a bit. Answers that could give him power. Answers with which he could break away from Naruto and create a life of his own. So before he could change his mind, Rage turned again and charged forward in a blur. He let out a shout as his feet left the ground and leapt.

For a split second he hung in the air, anticipation gripping at his senses. As gravity took control, the full impact of his actions slammed into his gut. Then, Rage began to fall.

Wind whipped around him as he flailed through the air. The cliff's edge was far away now. The ground was even farther. Fear coursed through him, an emotion he had learned…from whom? A katana glinted and blue orbs full of madness threatened to swallow him whole. He couldn't remember, but for a moment it didn't matter.

Because when he was plummeting down to earth, he was no longer Naruto or Rage. He was just a boy. He could forget about reality, dreams, nightmares and the chaos that raged within him. At least for a second. One second to experience the pure rush of adrenaline as he fell. One second to smile sincerely for the first and last time. One second in which he was entirely sane. But time must pass and things must fall to the ground. In the end, Rage's moment of peace reached its zenith just as he reached the nadir of his descent.

CRASH! Rage slammed into the ground. The observer merely gazed disdainfully as dirt and rubble flew everywhere. Rage hauled himself out of the crater he'd made by landing. He was still smiling and even laughed a little as he dusted off his pants. The dust cleared and he walked over towards the observer.

"You always were one for theatrics and unnecessary actions," the observer said with distaste.

The smile was gone now, replaced by a snarl, "I just did the impossible. Is there something wrong with enjoying that?"

"In this place nothing is impossible."

_"Nothing is impossible."_

The familiar words lit a fire inside Rage. It was the same sickening sensation as always. He hunched over as anger ripped through him. It coursed through his arms, up past his legs and settled into his chest. What was left of his brief inner peace vanished. There where most people had a heart, Rage had only wrath and bloodlust.

Urges called out to him. Evil thoughts filled his mind. His body trembled as he tried to contain the pure fury. Rage wanted to kill. No, it was not that simple. He wanted to crush. He wanted to make everything other than himself hurt. He wanted to make them regret their own existence. He wanted to be the monster standing on a battlefield surrounded by endless corpses. Maybe then, he would be satisfied.

Endless anger. Endless 'rage'. Yes, he was so full of it that it became his name. Rage. Rage! RAGE! His blood boiled and all he could see was red. An ice cold hand grabbed his shaking arm.

"Calm down," the observer ordered.

And if he was Rage then the observer was Indifference. Slowly the observer's calm seemed to spread through him. His hands stopped trembling and he was able to stand up straight. Instead of saying thanks, Rage tore his arm from the observer's grip. The anger was still there as always. But without it who would he be anyway?

_"One to protect and carry the anger."_

"What is his name? Whose voice am I hearing? So like Naruto's yet so unlike him. And don't say 'we're all Naruto'. Just answer my question honestly for once," Rage glared at the observer, "How many of us are there really? How many fragments did Naruto create?"

The observer frowned, "I couldn't tell you whose voice you're hearing. That is your problem. As for how many of us are there, you should ask Naruto that."

"We made a deal. Answer me! How many of us did Naruto create?"

"You want to know how many he created? Really? The 'Naruto' you know? The answer is none," the observer threw his arms up in the air, gesturing to their surroundings, "He didn't create you. He didn't create me. The only thing he ever made was this pack of lies you call a world."

Rage gaped at him, his mind reeling, "None? If he didn't create us then how did we get here? I know that I didn't exist before that night. Something, someone, made us. If not Naruto then who?"

The observer just shook his head and began to walk away. The way he dismissed Rage, treated him like he wasn't worthy of the truth, it made Rage burn. As the observer liked to remind him, they were all Naruto, so they should all be privy to the same information. Rage was tired of not having the answers. So with a growl he stalked after the observer.

"What do you want Rage?" the observer asked as the other boy caught up with him.

"What do I want? I want you to answer my questions. Is that really so hard for you?"

He didn't falter, just kept walking ahead of Rage, "No. What is it that you want in the end? What is your goal?"

"I want to become my own person. I'm tired of being 'Naruto'. He has reality. He has an identity," he looked out towards the ocean, "I want this place. I want to control it and create a paradise. A place where there's no need for anger, no need for pain, and no need for anyone besides me. What a wonderful world that would be."

The observer snorted, "So you wish to persist in creating a lie. Simple fallacy. Blinding yourself so you can live in a dream within a dream."

Rage snapped, his fist already on a collision course for the observer's arrogant face. As he predicted, the observer turned to face him, his fist now mere inches away from their target. Rage grinned and let the momentum take him forward. The observer blinked at him owlishly and then vanished. Rage was already overreaching himself, he couldn't stop. The punch sent him sprawling into the white sand.

"If you really want to hit me then stop being so predictable," and of course it was observer. He stood there, looming over Rage's fallen form with a frown on his face. Rage spat out sand and stood, sending a glare at the other boy.

"What is it you want? You always take the time to tell me how I'm wrong. What is your goal Observer?"

"My goal?" violet eyes bored into Rage, "I want to destroy your lies. I want this world to disappear. I want the truth to be revealed. This deception has gone on long enough. Every second we spend like this is a second our enemies gain to use against us.

"What I want…," he cast his eyes downward and in the softest of whispers said, "I want to be whole."

A breeze blew through them, ruffling hair and sending sand spinning. Created by the same person, yet we are so different, thought Rage. Silence reigned as waves lapped up against the shore. Finally, the observer looked back up at Rage.

"You know…I've always hated you. Just as you've probably hated me. I'm not strong like you are. I can only watch as you do your best to manipulate Naruto, while you remain unaware that all of us are puppets. Always watching, always seeing the real side of things. That's all an observer like me can do," his voice was now laced with annoyance, "You have the strength to change things just as Naruto does. Yet neither of you do. You just ignore reality and settle for an isolated existence in a world of your own making. Why can't either of you just realize that it doesn't matter?

"You're playing alone in the darkness. Everything around you. The sand underneath your feet. The cliff we jumped off of together. The moon and stars that illuminate the sky. The black ocean crashing into the shore. None of it is real. None of it exists. They're just lies. You and Naruto are trapped in darkness and pretending it's the light."

"I never asked what you thought of me. I don't care about your opinion."

The observer grimaced, "What?"

Rage grinned, "So what if it's the darkness. Who cares? Reality is just perception right? Then if I perceive this world to reality then for me, it is. The reality outside this place is just something that came together from people clashing. It's just full pain, fear, envy, and anger. In the end it's just going to end in destruction. Why is such a world like that real instead of this one? Even if everyone else believes that I am living a lie, this lie can become a reality. I can become a lie who creates."

"Really…a lie who creates," the observer closed his eyes. Purple chakra began to gather around the observer like a cloak.

"If you're a lie that creates," his violet eyes snapped open, "then I am a truth that destroys."

"Let's see which is stronger then," Rage smirked, already gathering chakra.

The two stood there, unfaltering in their beliefs. Two pieces of the same person. Two individual truths that opposed and clashed with each other. Red and violet. Truth and lies. Creation and destruction. Perfect juxtaposition.

"Rage! Observer! Where are you guys?" Naruto called from a distance. Just like that the tension vanished. Chakra settled down and was no longer visible. With a cruel grin, Rage began to make his way to Naruto. A cold hand on his arm stopped him.

"One day you're going to go too far," the observer gripped his arm tighter, "I swear Rage, and I'll be there to stop you. I'll destroy this world if that's what it takes. Even as an observer I will not back down. Consequences be damned."

Rage just smirked at him, "I'll look forward to that day then."

He ripped his arm away from the observer and started off towards Naruto. The observer grimaced, not moving from his spot. He could see a lot of things. He had already seen so much, yet even he had no idea of how badly this was going to end.

He cursed under his breath, "This deception is falling to pieces. Pawns are moving to forbidden places. This plan is and always was a mistake. So…what are you going to do, Naruto?"

* * *

Naruto smiled as he saw Rage approaching. The absence of his other self had made him worried. It also made his chest ache in a way that not even being with his father could fix. Now with Rage here, it stopped aching. His soul was all in one place, even if divided.

"Rage, you're back. Where'd you go? Where's the observer?" he asked. Rage just shrugged apathetically. Yep, same Rage as ever. It didn't matter how distant he acted, as long as he was back.

"Well, you missed a lot. You've been gone four days. Like for one, Sasuke and I are friends, well he forced me but…it's nice. The second thing…well it's a surprise."

"A surprise?" Rage repeated curiously.

"Yeah, imagine the best thing in the world. It's twice as good as that," Naruto took Rage by the hand, "Come on and follow me. The observer has already met him so I guess it's ok that he isn't here."

Rage complied and was dragged along by Naruto down the beach line. Naruto had added little things here and there to his beach. Seagulls huddled around in large groups and flew away when the pair came close. Opposite the ocean were large mountains and cliffs. Between the mountains and the white strip was beach was a dense jungle like forest. Naruto could see chattering monkeys swing about on vines. Turning away to look at their destination, he saw the pier he had created. But his attention lay not on the pier itself, but rather who was sitting on it.

Minato Namikaze gazed off into the distance, feet dangling from the edge. Naruto felt Rage go still as soon as he recognized him. The same reaction he'd had. The observer had just looked at his dad and then asked Naruto why. Naruto frowned at the memory. Really, why hadn't been the question to ask. Why couldn't the observer just be happy that his dad was back?

"Dad?" Rage whispered. He surged forward, running past Naruto towards the blond figure. Naruto had no choice but to chase after him. Rage looked happy, maybe even astounded. Immediately guilt began to sink in. Naruto shoved it away. Some secrets should be kept.

"Dad!" Rage came to a stop at the pier. Minato did not turn to answer his call. Rage repeated himself, a little unsure now. Still, Minato did not turn. Rage tightened his hands into fists. Naruto came to a stop beside his other self.

"What did you do to him? Why isn't he answering? What the hell have you done now Naruto?" demanded Rage coldly.

"He can't see or hear you Rage. You or the observer. He just sees me," Naruto had to look away from those accusing eyes, "He doesn't know you exist."

"How?" his eyes narrowed as he answered his own question, "Oh you've sunk low Naruto. You're using Genjutsu on Dad? Really? Our own father?"

Naruto looked up at his father. His dad loved him and had done so much for him. And Naruto had ruined it all that night years ago. For his dad to know that he was broken in a way that could not be fixed. For his dad to see the blood that he had spilled that night. Naruto wouldn't be able to take it. Surely one lie wouldn't be so bad. Not even a lie really, just a hidden truth.

"I had to."

Rage just looked at him with a betrayed expression, "Yeah, just like you had to make the observer and me. I see we don't matter much anymore. You've got Dad all to yourself. I bet that feels good."

Naruto finally looked up at him, "I'm sorry Rage. It's not fair, I know. But…it's the only way."

"Sorry? Sorry ain't good enough Naruto. You drag me out here to meet Dad, and then tell me I can't talk to him. He doesn't even know I exist. In fact I don't even want your goddamned apology," Rage's body began to shake. Naruto knew the warning signs. He had to do something. Fortunately an idea came to mind.

"How about we change places for a while Rage?" he offered.

Rage stopped shaking and looked at him incredulously, "What?"

"I can change it so that he see's you instead of me. You'd have to act more like me, but you are me so no problem. While you do that, I'll be able to go see Gaara. I haven't been able to because the observer wouldn't make the door for me while you weren't here. Probably so you can take control if anything goes wrong."

The other boy nodded immediately, he had an almost grateful look on his face, "Yeah that would be good. I suppose I'm not allowed to tell him anything about what happened that night or who I really am right?"

"Yes. I just can't tell him Rage. What if he looks at us the way everyone else does? I don't think I could take it if Dad hated us."

"Fine. Change the genjutsu and get going already," Rage smirked, "Feel free to take as long as you want with Gaara."

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. He could envision the chakra illusion he'd wrapped around Minato. It was simple to change the parameters of the genjutsu. He opened his eyes. Now his dad would see Rage as a normal version of Naruto while Naruto himself was invisible.

"One last question Naruto," Rage said suddenly.

"What?"

"When you made us…how many was there? Is it just the three of us or is there someone else too?"

Naruto looked at him quizzically, "I'm pretty sure it's just you and the observer. I'd remember creating another fragment."

"Yeah," Rage agreed dubiously, and then turned his back on Naruto.

Naruto left the pier and walked over to where the ocean met land. His feet sank comfortably into the wet sand and water lapped up around his ankles. He sought out the observer's chakra but couldn't find it. He scowled. His other self had probably already returned to the red abyss.

The abyss was a strange place. Though Naruto himself had never been there, the observer had told him a little about it. It was where Rage and the observer went when they weren't in the mindscape with him. Rage seemed to hate it, while the observer was indifferent about it. The dark gift was also there. The enormous amount of chakra in the shape of the Kyuubi had taken up residence in the abyss. Why, he didn't know. All he knew was that the place lay somewhere underneath the ocean he'd created.

Naruto wouldn't go there though, even to find the observer. Just thinking about it made him shudder. No, he was not going into the abyss. But he wanted to see Gaara. Naruto bit his lip. Maybe he could create the door himself. He'd seen the observer do it several times. It couldn't be that hard could it?

Naruto focused, molding chakra in his hands. He remembered the door. Black with a white frame. He remembered the cool feel of the doorknob. He remembered the strange world between mindscapes it had taken him to. The image was complete. Naruto seized it and his chakra flowed to replicate it.

And there it was a gate to places people had never even dreamed of. Naruto pumped a fist in the air. He was getting better. Now he didn't need the observer's help. He walked forward the few feet between him and the door. His hand grasped the knob.

Naruto looked back at the pier. Rage and his dad were laughing. Minato was ruffling Rage's hair, and though Rage hated to be touched, he let him. Naruto smiled sadly. It was his fault for creating Rage and the observer. It was the least he could do. With that thought in mind, he pushed open the door and stepped through.

* * *

Things hadn't changed much in the world between mindscapes. Naruto still found himself in the ring of nine doors that surrounded a burning fire. The fire was the only difference. Every time he went through here, it seemed to be bigger. The little flame that had been there when he'd first visited Gaara was now a good-sized fire that could easily get out of hand.

Naruto sidled around the flames, heading for Gaara's door. He'd been tempted to touch the fire once. It was beautiful, dancing and flowing in the air. His hand had come inches away from touching it. As soon as Naruto had come close, the fire's nature seemed to shift. No longer was it a beautiful ethereal thing to be treasured; now it was a dangerous manifestation that reeked of malice. He'd snatched his hand away and run back to his mindscape. Now he knew better.

Naruto looked around at the other doors. According to Gaara, they led to the mindscapes of other Jinchuuriki. Naruto flinched at the word. Human sacrifice, Jinchuuriki. Just because they had demons inside them. Just because they had the dark gift. Just like that, they were no longer considered human.

Naruto shook his head, trying to get rid of the hateful thoughts. Yes, these were the doors to their mindscapes. He had tried to open one a while ago, but it was locked. Apparently Jinchuuriki could block out people from their minds. Naruto wasn't sure how to do it himself, but Gaara said he'd teach him one day.

His expression brightened and he reached out to grab the door's handle. Immediately he felt a foreign chakra examining him. It recognized him and disappeared. Naruto then pushed the handle and entered Gaara's mindscape.

Naruto found himself sitting on top of a house that appeared to be made out of sand. Many other such buildings surrounded the one he sat on. Large brown cliffs surrounded the village, making it look like it sat in a giant bowl. One place stood out from the others. In the center of the village, there was a spherical shaped building that bore the kanji wind. It reminded Naruto of the Hokage tower in Konoha.

"Naruto."

The boy turned to face Gaara. The redhead stood over two corpses whose blood was rapidly turning the sand crimson. Naruto scrunched up his nose and looked away from the bodies. Gaara smirked knowingly at him. With a flick of the wrist, the bodies were gone, though their blood remained.

"Assassins again?" Naruto asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, though this is the first time they sent more than one at a time," he came to stand beside the blond, "What about you, little brother? Anyone try to kill you lately?"

"No, just insults and glares."

"Ah."

Naruto looked up at Gaara. He seemed lost in his own thoughts. The redhead did it often. It was just something Naruto got used to. Just like he'd gotten used to calling Gaara 'brother'. They might as well have been born brothers. Gaara was one of the few people Naruto trusted and the redhead himself had told Naruto he was the only one Gaara trusted. Well, even if Gaara only trusted him because he was a jinchuuriki like him.

"Where are we Gaara?"

"Sunagakure. This is where I live. I thought you might want to see it," Gaara wasn't really paying attention. He was staring at the spherical building with the wind kanji on it.

"Brother, what's wrong?" Naruto asked, because it was clear that something was bothering him.

Gaara tilted his head slightly to look at him, "I want to kill my father. Right now I could crush this entire village, but I don't know if I'm strong enough to take him on."

"Then I guess you should train. You don't have to kill him right now do you? Do you even have to kill him at all?"

Naruto immediately regretted his last statement as he felt a wave of killing intent seize him. Gaara glared at him, and sand slithered around his feet.

"I'm going to kill him. Letting him go is not an option," the glare softened a little, "I know you're scared of killing people. But I'm not. This is how I justify my existence."

The killing intent vanished, and Naruto relaxed. Gaara resumed his impassive stare at the building.

"I don't have the time to train. He's been sending me on nonstop missions. Whenever I come back, he sends an assassin after me," he snorted, "He's trying to run me ragged."

"You're strong though. Stronger than me."

"But am I strong enough? Is my hatred and reason to live enough to destroy him?" He glanced sideways at Naruto, "It's not just a fight. It's a full scale assault against this entire village. He took down the previous Ichibi Jinchuuriki. I do not want to suffer the same fate."

Naruto racked his brains for an answer, "Maybe…Is there anyone you could work with? An ally to help you take him down? Because it sounds like something that would be hard to do alone."

Apparently it was the right answer because Gaara stiffened. Slowly a feral grin crept onto his face. Naruto yelped as sand started swirling chaotically around the two of them. The sand formed a small platform that hung in the air which Gaara stepped onto. Another similar platform formed in front of Naruto. With hesitation, he slowly crawled onto it.

Immediately the sand shot up into the air at a breakneck speed. Naruto hung on for dear life as he rose higher and higher into the air. Gaara slowed the sand down and they came to a stop a couple hundred feet above the village. The blond shivered as a cold wind blew past. He peeked out over the edge of his platform and blanched. Sunagakure was covered in a sandstorm.

"What an excellent idea, little brother."

Twin golden beams appeared from the depths of the sandstorm accompanied by a high-pitched laughter. A giant tanuki-like monster revealed itself and proceeded to begin destroying the village. It punched its distended stomach and spat out pressurized balls of air. The demon appeared to be made entirely out of sand with exposed blue veins.

A roar tore his sights from the monster. On the other side of the village, tails lashed out and crushed buildings. The Kyuubi roared and the resulting sonic wave decimated everything in its path.

"You're stronger than you think Naruto. I could teach you. Help you master the demonic chakra," Gaara offered, "We could do it together."

Naruto tore his eyes away from the demons, "What do you mean?"

"Help me destroy Suna," he said bluntly, "In return I'll help you destroy Konoha. They wouldn't be able to stop us."

"But-"

"Don't you want to? You told me about how they hurt you. How they drove you to fracture yourself in order to keep any semblance of sanity. You hate them. I know you do. Because we are the same, little brother."

"Gaara, I can't…the first time I killed….it broke me," Naruto trembled at the memory, "I can't stand to be broken again."

Annoyance filled the redhead's voice as he retorted, "You don't have to get broken. It's your own fault for being weak. If you would just accept what you are then you could be so much stronger. Jinchuuriki, Naruto. That is what we are. The humans sacrificed us in order to contain a power they couldn't comprehend. We were born monsters."

"What if I don't want to be a monster Gaara? What if I found people who care about me and even call me friend? Maybe I do hate the villagers and old man Hokage. Maybe I do wish they would all go die. But I don't have any right to kill them all. If you want to go ahead and slaughter hundreds of people, go ahead! I'm not going to help you."

The killing intent was back, but this time Naruto didn't falter. He stood strong, staring into those cruel jade eyes. Gaara glared back. The scene beneath them vanished. Now the two stood inside a swirling vortex of sand.

"Even you Naruto? You'd turn your back on one of your own kind?" Gaara grimaced as if in pain and grabbed at his hair, "You, who are more like me than anything in the world. One who has suffered as I have. One who has killed just as I have. What is really so different between us that you would choose your so called 'friends' over a chance to right everything that is wrong?"

The redhead laughed darkly, "How do you even know they're your friends? Do they know anything about you at all Naruto? Do they know you split your soul? Do they know about the power inside you? Do they know you killed someone? Do they know that you prefer an imaginary world over reality? I bet they don't."

Naruto frowned, "They don't need to know any of those things. It doesn't have anything to do with our friendship."

"Or are you scared that if you tell the truth that they'll hate you? To have someone you trusted so dearly look upon you with fear and hatred…is that what you're trying to avoid?" Gaara grinned, "It's going to happen one way or the other, little brother of mine. You should tell them and see whether you have any real friends at all."

"They won't abandon me! Sasuke wouldn't and neither would Itachi!" Naruto shouted, despite the doubts growing in his thoughts, "That's why we're different Gaara. Because even though we are so similar we chose different things. You chose to be a monster. I chose to become nothing like you."

Gaara's door appeared right in front of Naruto, "Get out of my sight Naruto."

"Gaara…," the other jinchuuriki simply gestured for him to go. Naruto grabbed the door handle and made to leave.

"Just remember, I'm going to kill all other humans than myself Naruto. That includes those pathetic things you call friends."

Naruto felt his own killing intent rise, "I won't let you."

Mocking laughter was his answer as he passed though the door.

* * *

Three days later, Mizuki stood at the board and lectured while Naruto gazed off into space. Sasuke sat next to him, taking notes. He'd probably berate Naruto later for not paying attention.

Sasuke.

Could he really trust the Uchiha? Despite everything, Gaara's words had sunk in and left their mark. Could Naruto really trust anyone around him, when he was hiding so much from them? Gaara said no, Rage would say no and the observer would say nothing at all. But would should he say?

Hey Sasuke. I've got a demon's power inside me. People hate me because of that. A couple years ago someone tried to kill me. Only I killed him and now I've got voices in my head that I created. They live in my mindscape which I've created a world from. If it was possible I'd rather be there than here for the rest of my life. But despite having my dad and two other versions of myself, I'd be alone. I know, why don't you come to my world with me Sasuke? Your parents won't mind if you play with a demon right?

Yeah, that wasn't an option. Except for maybe one thing. Naruto had though about it over and over. Was it possible to bring Sasuke to his mindscape? He knew Rage was able to travel to other people and use genjutsu on them. Maybe if he changed the technique a bit, he'd be able to bring someone instead of going to their mindscape.

That would be the first step in telling the truth. The first step in revealing everything he'd kept hidden so long. So why was he hesitating? Why was he so scared? He grit his teeth. He was scared because he knew the consequences. He knew what it would mean if Sasuke rejected him and his world. It would make him a monster just like Gaara.

But if he didn't reject him…if he looked upon his world with wonder the same way Naruto did, then it would be worth it. That's when Naruto made his decision.

He would tell Sasuke.

Immediately, the observer and Rage began yelling at him not to. Their protests echoed in his head. Naruto ignored them and simply waited for the lesson to end. Rage was so angry at him. The observer simply told him he was going to regret it. But he was wrong. Because if someone else told Sasuke he was a demon then Sasuke was going to hate Naruto for never telling him the truth. That was what Naruto would regret.

Mizuki dismissed them for a lunch break. Naruto prepared himself and tapped on Sasuke's shoulder. The Uchiha turned to look at him quizzically.

"Let me guess, you forgot your lunch again," Sasuke sighed, "You just want to steal my tomatoes don't you?"

"No, I've got my own lunch. It's just…" Naruto hesitated, words stuck in his throat.

"It's just what?"

"Can I tell you a secret?"

Sasuke noticed Naruto's serious tone, and nodded. He gestured for them to go somewhere more private. Naruto followed the other boy to a secluded spot behind the academy. Sasuke crossed his arms and waited as Naruto tried to call upon the right words.

"Come on, Naruto. What is it?"

And Naruto found the words just dropping out of his mouth. Somehow, without even fully comprehending it, he was telling Sasuke about a wonderful world. A world that could ease the solace of a broken boy. A world where stars could dance. A world where the dead could roam. A world where anything that could be imagined, could come to life. A world where nothing bad ever had to happen at all.

Then the words left just as quickly as they came. Naruto could only stare at the ground at his feet. Sasuke hadn't said word throughout the entire thing. The other boy was still silent.

"Naruto."

Naruto flinched and closed his eyes. He waited for the accusations to come. For the other boy to call him liar or crazy. He already regretted it, even though nothing had even happened yet. But Sasuke didn't call him crazy. No, his best friend Uchiha Sasuke didn't say any of the things Naruto had expected. What he said was….

"Show me."


	6. Infection In Media Res

**That is not dead which can eternal lie.  
And with strange aeons even death may die.  
- H.P. Lovecraft**

* * *

"I need your help. Both of you."

Rage and the observer stood in front of him. The observer had a dubious expression on his face as Naruto spoke. Rage was frowning, his hands shoved in his pockets. Naruto bit his lip as he tried to come up with the words to convince them to help. It was odd that it was harder to convince himself than it was to convince Sasuke. The thought made him smile. That's why he was here. He wouldn't be able to 'show' the Uchiha anything without Rage and the observer's cooperation.

"I know you don't like what I did. I'm sorry. Nothing bad happened. If you help me then you'll be making sure nothing happens," this statement was accompanied by a shrug. Rage just looked incredulously at Naruto, seemingly at a loss for words. His hands trembled but he made no sounds.

"Fool."

The observer's voice cut through the tense silence. He took a step towards Naruto and glared at him.

"You're such a child. Do you really think apologizing will make everything better? If so, then you're more of a fool than I thought."

"I'm not a fool!" Naruto objected defensively, "I haven't done anything wrong. I made a choice and everything turned out fine."

"How long have you known Sasuke?" the observer asked suddenly.

"I don't know. I guess since I started going to the academy with him."

"How long have you been his friend?"

"A week. Maybe two."

The observer sighed with disgust, "Did it ever occur to you that revealing one of our most important secrets to someone you barely know was a foolish action? You think 'everything is ok' because he believes you. You're so wrong. Have you even considered the idea that he would tell someone?"

Naruto's eyes widened, "No, he wouldn't tell anyone. Friends don't do that."

"Even if that means keeping secrets from his brother?"

"I-," Naruto shut his mouth as the realization hit home. He'd forgotten about Itachi. The observer was right; he was so stupid. Itachi was smart, Itachi was strong, and Itachi could figure out everything if Sasuke told him his secret. As soon as he figured everything out, Itachi would report to the Hokage. Naruto winced as the Hokage's harsh warning came to mind. One slip of the tongue could bring everything crashing down.

"Exactly," the observer said, driving his point home.

"So what are we supposed to do about it?" Rage asked, "Just sit back and hope that Sasuke doesn't spill the beans? That's if he hasn't already."

Naruto scowled, "He hasn't. He wouldn't have been able to. Itachi hasn't really been doing much besides guarding me and doing whatever while I'm at the academy. If we can bring him here, to our world, then I can convince him not to tell Itachi."

"How? You think Sasuke would pick us over his brother? Unless," Rage smirked, "Are you gonna use genjutsu on him just like you did on dear old Dad?"

That was an option, a tempting one at that. Naruto could imagine Sasuke sitting with him on the beach, blinded to all the secrets of the world. Forever caught between reality and dreams. And why should it stop there? If he could make people become his friends then why stop at one? Other kids could be manipulated into coming here; other kids could fall under his spell. Naruto could see them; all lined up like puppets with fake smiles and glazed eyes.

It was a horrifying image. The fact that he could make it happen so easily made it worse. All it would take would be a massive outpouring of chakra, the dark gift. A chakra veil that covered everything, seized every mind and ripped the soul out. The chakra would spread out in tendrils and then bring him back the minds of the people. The people would be in his mindscape with no control over anything. Naruto would be in control. He could hurt them so badly. He could drive them to insanity or crush their minds. So tempting, so easy. So damning.

He wouldn't do it.

And the only reason why was because Sasuke had believed him. Something Rage and the observer didn't know was that he did have a backup plan. If Sasuke had laughed or dismissed him then that's what would happen. His dreams would become their reality. Because despite his bold words to Gaara, he would choose to become a monster if it was his only option. It was really that simple.

He wasn't going to do that, but what was he going to do? Both Rage and the observer were staring at him expectantly. Rage who was stronger than he was and more willing to kill. Observer who was more logical and knew so much more than he did. Both were better than him in ways. Yet they also looked towards him for his decision. _That's right,_ Naruto reminded himself. He was the creator while these were mere aspects of himself. He was the in between. Neither good nor evil, he was just everything that was left. Just like that, he had an answer.

"If he wants to, I'll let him talk to Itachi. If he does, it doesn't matter. I'm not going to let anything bad happen. Even if I have to…" Naruto shook his head and continued, "If he doesn't tell Itachi then we can trust him. I can trust him. I'd have a real friend. Are you ok with that? Rage? Observer?"

Rage scowled at first, but then let out a sigh, "Whatever. Not like we have a choice anyway."

Naruto nodded and turned towards the observer. The other boy quietly stared at him, thoughts hidden behind his calm demeanor. But Naruto thought he saw something. Was that frustration lurking in those violet eyes? Before he could look further the observer closed his eyes and spoke.

"What will you do if Sasuke asks more questions? Will you tell him everything? If the situation goes the other way, what are you willing to do to make sure the Hokage can't control you?"

"Maybe not everything. But…I think I'm tired of secrets anyway. It's all about trust anyway right? This is the start. As for Ojii-san," Naruto pushed down his doubts and spoke seriously, "I'll do whatever I have to. Even if that means controlling him and the rest of this village."

Rage let out a low impressed whistle. The observer just looked frustrated.

"Is that ok with you? Observer?"

The observer pursed his lips, "You don't have to do any of this. You could pretend you were joking with Sasuke. You could wait. It's not necessary bring him here now. Isn't Dad good enough?"

"He's dead. I thought that having him here would be the best thing in the world…but," Naruto forced the words out, "Every time I look at him, all I can see his sadness. He doesn't want to be here. He knows I'm lying. I can't tell him. He hasn't asked about Mom yet, but he's going to. And I don't want to tell him. I don't ever want to tell him about all this stuff I've messed up."

"You won't tell your father but you want to tell Sasuke?"

"Dad would be so disappointed; he'd end up hating me. Sasuke…Sasuke doesn't know me yet. He doesn't hate me and once he knows everything then he'll understand why I did it."

'_You don't know that. You just wish it. Just like him. Do you really have to make the same mistake twice?'_ the observer didn't say. He couldn't. The way Naruto was looking at him, so hopeful and determined. It made him bite down on every single cynical comment. He just looked up at the other blond with resignation.

"Ok Naruto. I'm ok with it. I'll do whatever you need me to."

And Naruto's eager smile in response made him sick.

Naruto put his hand out. The observer laid his on top of it, while Rage slapped his down on the very top.

"Let's do it. We can perfect this genjutsu and become even stronger," Rage said with a grin. Naruto nodded, and the observer was silent. Naruto looked across the circle and stared at the empty space between Rage and the observer. He didn't know why but he felt like there should be another hand on top of his. Another person should be standing with them in this circle.

The observer looked at him and knew. Rage also felt it, but said nothing out loud. Naruto let his hand fall to his side. He heard him. Just a whisper, but he'd heard him. That person from so long ago. The only voice that remained clear while all his other memories were forgotten and blurred.

"_It's time for you to wake up, Naruto."_

He could sense whoever it was. They were there. Somewhere in the black depths of his mind. He could've called out and extended a hand towards them. He could've searched and found them. But he didn't.

Maybe it was instinct or perhaps it was fear. All Naruto knew was that this person was strong. This part of him was dangerous. They were the key to many things. But Naruto did not want to open the door.

The observer knew what lay beyond that door. He knew so very much and could only do little. This is why his final thought, the one that could have averted the danger, never left his lips.

'_Just because you're all that's left doesn't mean you're all that's ever been.'_

* * *

Sasuke didn't know what he'd gotten himself into.

"Good night Sasuke," his mother called as he walked to his room.

"Night, Mom."

Minutes later, he was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Itachi hadn't come home as usual. He was probably guarding Naruto even though he could've asked for a break by now. Somehow, the fact didn't annoy him like it usually did.

Naruto was his friend. Originally, he'd only befriended the blond to keep him from spending too much time with his brother. Sasuke had been serious when he told Itachi it felt like him and Naruto were more like brothers than him and Sasuke. Now, Naruto had actually become his friend. He didn't know how or why, but it happened.

The blond was actually fun to be around once he stopped acting all meek. The quickest way to get rid of his shyness was to race him. Being one of the fastest kids around was something the Uzumaki took pride in. More often than not, Naruto beat him. Badly. Sasuke could actually use one hand to count all the times he'd beaten Naruto.

The two had fallen into a routine. Things were good. Then everything changed four days ago.

Sasuke frowned in the darkness. Naruto had become even more quiet than usual. He'd stare off into space and shut everything out. When Sasuke finally got through to him, the blond would just smile and say everything was ok. It irritated the hell out of him.

It was worse when Naruto snapped out of it himself and began asking strange questions. Sasuke closed his eyes and thought about their conversation from a couple days ago.

"_Sasuke."_

_Said boy jumped, and then gave the other boy a cautious glare, "What is it Naruto?"_

"_Have you ever made your brother really mad at you?"_

_Sasuke snorted, "Itachi doesn't get mad. He gets all quiet and ignores me. Why you are asking anyway? Is he mad at you? What've you done now Naruto?"_

"_Hey! I haven't done anything at all," Naruto protested, "I just wondered is all."_

"_Yeah right. Who's mad at you then?"_

_Naruto's expression became guarded, "No one. Don't you believe me?"_

"_No. You're a pretty bad liar," Sasuke answered. He frowned as a brief ironic smile flickered across his friend's face._

"_You're wrong. I think I'm a very good liar."_

"_Huh?" he asked, but Naruto wasn't really there anymore. After his last statement, he'd turned away. Now the blond stared at the chalkboard with glassy eyes. Somehow, Sasuke felt very far away from Naruto even though they sat next to each other._

Sasuke punched his bed in frustration. What the hell was really going on? Why did everything have to be so complicated? Sure, he knew about Naruto's world inside his head. Sure, he had believed the blond. However, neither of those things helped at all. It was as if he had a bunch of pieces to a puzzle only to find out each piece came from a different puzzle.

First, he knew that Naruto had created some world in his head. Second, his friend had some kind of split personality thing going on. Sasuke wasn't quite sure, but the way Naruto would switch from quiet and calm to cruel and loud was unnerving. Third, he knew Naruto was afraid of something. That something he was afraid of made him keep secrets and stay away from everyone. Lastly, Naruto had decided to trust him and tell him a little bit about what was wrong.

Why? Sasuke ground his teeth. There was the thing that kept bugging him. Why him out of all people? When Naruto had told him, he hadn't known what to say. It wasn't a matter of believing him or not. Sasuke had heard about the weird things ninjas did. What Naruto described wasn't impossible.

No, the issue was more of a 'what the hell do you want me to do about it' sort. Sasuke hadn't known what to do. He was interested in the mindscape thing so he'd said 'show me'. He didn't expect Naruto to say yes. He never expected the blond to trust him like that. Sasuke had never told Naruto anything important about himself like that.

"Welcome home," he heard his mother say. His father grunted in reply. There were soft footsteps and even softer whispers that Sasuke couldn't make out. A door slammed shut and everything was quiet again.

_Father,_ Sasuke turned over and lay on his side. His father was even more disapproving lately. Nothing Sasuke did made him as good as Itachi in his father's eyes. Itachi was the genius, Itachi was the heir, and Itachi was the one who would always be better between him and Sasuke._ But,_ Sasuke thought, _he's also the one who plays with me, the one who taught me how to throw shuriken properly, and the one I look up to._

This was it exactly. He kept these secrets. His own problems in his life. The kinds of things he didn't tell Naruto. The way his father always looked over him. The way Sasuke couldn't stay mad at his brother for very long. The fact that despite being best in class, no one acknowledged him for it, no they said it was 'expected of Itachi's little brother.'

'_That's my boy.'_

Words that were never said to him.

'_Sorry Sasuke, Maybe another time.'_

And who knew when that time would come? Everything seemed so distant now. Had his family always been like this? It was like they were treating each other like strangers. His mom subtly hinted at ways to make himself stronger, which would in turn make the clan stronger. She didn't baby him as much, telling him things like 'Itachi wouldn't whine about this.' Itachi had always been a little distant from their parents. The only ones he ever opened up to were Sasuke and Shisui and lately, he hadn't been talking to either of them.

And his father was more obsessed with the clan than ever. The clan, the clan, the clan, it was always the clan that came first. Since Itachi was the heir to the clan and a genius, then his father would always be more interested in him. Being second was something he'd either have to get used to, not likely, or prove himself to be just as good as Itachi, which would be hard.

_Is this what growing up feels like?_ Sasuke thought sleepily as dreams took him. He never remembered them when he woke up. Just flashes of intermingling colors and vague sensations. More often, he didn't dream. But this night, this dream, was so astoundingly different, that it burned into his mind for the rest of his life.

It began in darkness. Sasuke was falling. He couldn't see anything around him. It wasn't scary or unpleasant. He had a vague feeling of where he was, but didn't question it. Such things didn't matter.

Dreams are short. Most people have several before the night is through. Sasuke's was already coming to end. If left uninterrupted, he would have hit the 'ground' in his dream and continued into another. But that's not what happened.

"_Sasuke_."

The voice was so jarring, so disorienting, that Sasuke nearly woke up. It was only the foreign chakra gripping him that kept him asleep.

"_Sasuke_."

Sasuke looked around warily, "Who's that? Who's there?"

Somewhere below him, he spotted what appeared to be Naruto. His form was blurry and seemed far away. He looked like he was floating in the darkness, compared to Sasuke's falling form.

"_Sasuke. Come on already. Follow me_," the other boy urged him.

"How?" he asked, "I'm falling."

"_No you're not. Look below you. There's a path. Walk on it and follow me. He's waiting for you_."

Sasuke looked down. Sure enough, he'd stopped falling. He was now standing on glowing line that cut through the shadows of his dream. The path was a myriad of reds and blues that mingled into purple occasionally. Stranger still, were the black darting shadows that writhed throughout the trail.

"_Stop taking long. We don't have much time to do this. Stop being a slowpoke," _Naruto scolded, then his tone lightened, "_Come on. I'll race you to the end."_

With that, the orange-clad boy took off down the pathway. Sasuke hesitated. He took a step forward gingerly, making sure that the path wasn't going to send him sprawling into the abyss again. It held and that was all the incentive he needed to go sprinting after Naruto.

It was weird. In real life, running tired him out. Here, he felt like he could've gone on running forever. It was simply matter of will. If he wanted to continue like this, he could. Sasuke realized. He willed himself to go faster and soon his feet were gliding along the path after Naruto.

Despite everything, Naruto always stayed one step ahead of him. His form was still blurry. Sometimes he would flicker and become see-through like a ghost. Sasuke had the sudden urge to reach out and touch him to see if his friend was really there. He tried, but Naruto was too far ahead.

Sasuke grimaced. It was his dream right? Things he wanted to happen were supposed to happen. So how come Naruto was still faster than he was? It didn't make any sense. _Faster, Faster, Faster_ he urged himself silently.

His arms pumped violently and each step soundlessly pounded against the ground. The trail's soft glow cast light trails along his form as he moved. Sasuke knew anyone else would see him as a blur at best. He was so fast, so close, he could do it. Naruto turned around, hair obscuring his eyes, and smirked at him. With a growl, Sasuke reached his hand out, intending to seize a hold of his blond friend-

-just as Naruto vanished. As if he was never there in the first place.

Sasuke slowed down, trying to understand what had just happened. One second, Naruto had been within his grasp, and in the next, he was gone. He came to stop and looked around warily. It was still dark all around, but darkness doesn't mean emptiness. Sasuke felt as though something was watching. Its presence weighed down on him. For the first time that night, Sasuke began to feel afraid.

"_Come on Sasuke! You're so close. The exit is just ahead of you," Naruto's voice rang out._ Sure enough, a little ways away from where he stood, a door materialized. It was simple black one, with a white frame. Relieved, Sasuke began to move towards it. Abruptly something grabbed his ankle and he fell flat on his face.

Sasuke yanked at his ankle in an attempt to get back up and something yanked back. With a growing sense of fear, the Uchiha turned around to see what had grabbed him. A strange black tentacle was wrapped around his ankle. It appeared to rise out of the path like some plant gone horribly wrong. Sasuke could only stare as the colors drained out of the path and left only an unforgiving black.

Two more tendrils rose from the ground and wrapped around his wrists. Sasuke screamed as they coiled tighter and tighter. The tendrils began to retreat into the ground, forcing him to witness the nightmare taking place underneath him.

Directly under him, shadows gathered quietly. They combined and created a rough circle around Sasuke. A large horizontal slit split the circle in half. He watched as more tendrils emerged and weaved back and forth to a non-existent current. Gently, they pulled at the circle's sides, dragging them outward and revealing the terror within.

The tendrils held onto him firmly, making sure he didn't fall into the newly created void. Thus, Sasuke was forced to stare into it. What he saw could only be described as the mouth of some hellish wormlike creature. The first thing he thought was '_there are too many teeth!'_ There were rows upon rows of them. They gnashed and grinded, all too ready to tear into flesh and bone. The teeth shone glaringly bright against the thing's undulating mass, each wreathed in incandescent flames.

Sasuke didn't struggle. He knew one wrong move could send him down the creature's gullet. Beneath him, the thing stopped gnashing its teeth and opened wide. The mouth had expanded to the point where it was like a gaping chasm ready to swallow him whole. But he didn't think about that. Something made him stare into it. For some reason Sasuke gazed into the depths of the abyss and he could not look away. There, deep within, lay the true horror and it opened its eye and stared back at him.

It was utterly silent as the two examined each other. In this moment, Sasuke realized one thing. Some things are not to be looked upon by humans. This was clearly one of those things. Yet he couldn't look away, no matter how much he wanted too. It held a spell over him and would not even let him scream in protest.

It was indescribable. This thing was terror personified. It was beyond good and evil. It was beyond comprehension. If asked, Sasuke would have said it was like the immense darkness between the stars waiting to engulf the universe in a sea of horror and despair.

His clan's Sharingan was similar to the way the thing's eye looked. However, this eye had several ripples spreading out from the pupil. Each ripple had three tomoe, for a grand total of nine. The ripples spun faster and faster, making the eye look like a hurricane. If the tendrils hadn't been holding him up, Sasuke would have fallen in due to sheer dizziness. As the eye swirled, the thing made a connection between its and his mind.

And in that moment, Sasuke felt so small. Ideas and emotions that he could never understand flowed into his brain. Next to this thing, he was so insignificant. It could drive him insane with a thought and destroy him completely with another. It gripped onto his mind and forced him to realize how expendable he was. That he was truly just a pawn in this creature's complex machinations. The whirling of the eye slowed and then came to a stop. Just like that, the brief connection was severed.

Sasuke shuddered, finally releasing the scream that had been held captive. This thing was a demon. A great nameless fear that was older than time itself. Nothing could stop it; much less understand its goals. And the worst thing about it was that the demon wasn't even truly awake!

Just like Sasuke, it was dreaming. It was healing from some attack on it from long ago. Compared to its old glory, the thing before him was weak. But it was getting stronger. Slowly, it was reforming, getting closer to consciousness, and already moving its various schemes into motion.

The ground rumbled as a tremor shook the dream world. The demon looked up at him and Sasuke felt like ice was running through his veins. The ground trembled again and its eye widened. It contracted and widened its mouth as if trying to speak. Seemingly frustrated after getting no results, the demon stopped.

"**I,"** it hissed. The softly spoken word caused the entire place to shake and shudder.

"**I."**

And Sasuke's screams couldn't drown it out.

"**I."**

It seized whatever limited knowledge of human communication it had and forced out the simplest of its thoughts.

"**I AM."**

And it was a sound like the end of the universe. As if reality itself had been torn asunder.

"**I AM."**

And it surged forth from the depths of the abyss. The surrounding fangs tore into it, but it continued on anyway, ichor running in silvery trails down its form. The tendrils threw Sasuke away roughly, allowing the demon to emerge. The boy landed a little ways away with a crash. He sucked in a few ragged breaths and then let out a low groan. When he looked up, the thing was already looming over him.

Its form constantly shifted, flickering, branching, expanding, and mutating as it pleased. It wasn't quite made of the stuff of life, but rather some odd combination of flesh and shadows like darkness made real. The demon had no mouth or any real facial features besides its eye. The eye itself flowed with the changing of its shapes, but always kept its sight on him.

"Why?" Sasuke whispered, "Why are you doing this?"

There was a moment of silence as the demon appraised him. Then it violently shifted and struck out at the boy with a humanoid like arm. The arm wrapped itself around his throat and squeezed. Sasuke did everything he could, even going as far to bite down on the appendage, but it wouldn't let him go. It raised him up in the air, so that they were eye to eye.

"What do you even want!" he asked, no longer a whisper but a hysterical scream. It quaked as the answer shook the air.

"**NOTHING."**

The word tore through reason. Sasuke felt a pressure begin to build up at his temples. The grip around his throat tightened. Was this really what he was going to die for? The 'nothing' this creature sought? Sasuke had the sudden urge to laugh and he did. The sound of it ricocheted into the darkness.

This was so stupid. The most powerful creature ever, and all it wanted was 'nothing'. Sasuke bit down on his lip to keep from laughing anymore. His head hurt like hell and his thoughts were all jumbled. Just being in the demon's presence this long was driving him insane.

The creature released him, letting him crumple to an unsightly heap on the ground. It gave him one final glance before turning away, disinterested. It was silent as it disappeared into the surrounding blackness. Sasuke watched it go. When it finally was no longer visible, he curled up and shut his eyes. His throat was raw from screaming and his head felt like it might burst. So he laid there, quiet, trapped between a dream and a nightmare.

He opened his eyes and saw that the path had lit up again, much more intense this time. He closed his eyes to shut out the light. There were footsteps and a choked gasp. Someone gently picked him up and began walking. Sasuke hung on limply, not really concerned. He heard the clicking of a door as it was unlocked. The person holding him hesitated briefly.

"I never meant for this to happen. I'm sorry Sasuke. Really I am. I never thought that thing would go after you or that it even existed outside my own mind," the stranger gulped, "But I'm gonna protect you from it, like I do for Naruto. Because you're my friend."

With that, the person carried Sasuke through the door and into the light.

* * *

"Is he ok?"

A door had appeared and Sasuke had haphazardly fallen out of it, unconscious. Naruto and Rage stood over him, while the observer stayed off to the side.

"Yeah, looks like he got stuck. Started to have a nightmare just as he was getting close. Weird, that's never happened to Iruka," Rage shrugged.

Naruto stiffened, "You never should have abandoned him like that anyways. We're lucky that he got up and opened the door. If something bad had happened-"

"But it didn't did it?" he smiled, "You told me to make sure he didn't see me anyway. Well at least not enough that he could realize that I wasn't you. So when he got close, I left so that he wouldn't find out. Unless you want him to?"

"Get out of my sight."

Rage quirked an eyebrow, "What'd you say?"

Naruto turned on him, snarling, "I said get out of my sight! I don't need you if you want to hurt my friends. He never would have seen you. You were just angry like always and wanted to get some stupid revenge on me for telling him in the first place. Well guess what Rage? I can get angry too! "

"Why do you even give a crap about him anyway? He's weak. Look at him. Lying in the dirt like a worm. You should kill him and the rest of the village. We've sacrificed enough for them. If you'd had your way, then they would know all our secret sand all of our weaknesses. They'd know everything, and don't tell me they wouldn't use it to their advantage."

"Killing people isn't the answer to everything Rage! It's wrong and it can break you in the worst ways. Why do you think you exist, the observer, or even this freaking world? Killing just makes people monsters. People like Gaara. I'm not a monster and I don't want to be one."

Rage threw up his hands in frustration, "But I am a monster! I like killing. I like the feel of blood on my hands. I love the fear of Iruka-sensei when I torture him. And as you like to remind me, I am you. You know you want these things too Naruto."

"Be quiet," Naruto's tone turned icy and his mouth was set in a firm line. Rage tried to make a sarcastic reply but found that no sound would come out of his mouth. He settled for glaring at the other boy.

"You will leave. When I need you, I will call and you will come," Naruto looked at him with disgust, "Now go."

Rage trembled as he struggled to control his anger. He cast one last hateful look towards Naruto, before vanishing. Naruto shook his head and turned to face Sasuke once more. His friend was stirring.

"Time for me to go too?" the observer asked quietly. Naruto spared him a glance and simply nodded. The observer also began to disappear.

"Good luck. I hope this was worth it Naruto," and with that, he was gone. Naruto knelt besides Sasuke. He stared at his hands, remembering how once upon a time they were covered in blood. How once upon a time there had only been one of him. How he was once just a boy who was lonely and missed his dad.

"I'm not Gaara. I'm not evil right? Maybe some small part of me wants to do awful things, but I'm not doing them. Isn't that all that matters? So long as I've got friends and I don't do bad things then I'm not a monster. Right Sasuke?" Naruto whispered softly.

Sasuke didn't hear him, but he mumbled incoherently. Naruto shook his shoulder to wake him up. The Uchiha opened his eyes and sat up. He blinked a couple times and rubbed his eyes.

"Naruto?"

"You made it," Naruto smiled, "This is my world."

Sasuke paused and looked around. An expression of awe covered his face. Naruto had spent some time changing his world before he'd brought Sasuke into it. An aurora of lights now hung in the sky, casting multicolored shadows across the sand. Giant frothy waves crashed into the shore, no longer black but blue. The two boys were in front of a pier where a simple sailboat was docked. On the side its name, _The Raven,_ was inscribed_. _Sasuke tried to get up, but stumbled. Naruto caught him and helped him get to his feet.

"Careful. Something weird happened to you when I was bringing you here. You remember anything?"

Sasuke frowned," It's fuzzy. I can't really remember much. I was just scared and then nothing."

"Do you know what you were scared of?"

"Nah, but there was this voice. I think," he hesitated, "I think it was you. I don't remember what you said but that's the last thing I remember."

"Weird. Maybe you heard me just now or something. I'm sorry that it happened like this. It was supposed to go smoothly. It won't happen again."

"It's fine. So this is your world huh? Impressive. What are we going to do? Or what can we do, I guess."

And Naruto could only grin, "Anything Sasuke. We can do anything."

* * *

_IT waits, dreaming of things to come. Unconsciously IT mumbles bizarre words. Words that send humanity into chaos. The little minds can't comprehend it. The truth that light and darkness are intertwined. However light cannot exist without darkness. Darkness can exist without anything._

_IT writhes, IT writhes. Connections are being made. Lines have been crossed and then obliterated for forever more. IT senses the beating heart that is life. IT knows that one day that heart will stop. IT will rise that day._

_IT yearns, IT yearns. IT has only one goal. Nothing. That beautiful void from whence it came. Nothing. When all was one and one was IT. Nothing! How IT longs to go back to those days. That is what IT dreams of even now._

_Soon, that dream would be reality._


End file.
